g?'iSi»l^??gpiPii|pl^ 


'■  ■:^>:^ 


BX  8949  .H56  1888 
Hinsdale,  Horace  Graham, 

1831-1917. 
Historical  discourse 

commemoratina  the  centenar 


AN  HISTORICAL  DISCOURSE, 


COMMEMORATING   THE 


Centenary  of  the  Completed  Organization 

OF  THE 

Fii[stPi[esbyterijinChoi[ch, 

PRINCETON,  NEW  JERSEY, 
PREACHED   DECEMBER  TWENTY-SIXTH   1886, 


HORACE  G.  HINSDALE, 

Pastor  of  the  Church, 


1888 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


This  Sermon  is  published  in  compliance  with  the  request  kindly  conveyed 
in  the  following  letter : 

Princeton,  New  Jersey,  February  23,  1887. 
Rev.  H.  G.  Hinsdale  : — 

Dear  Sir: — Your  admirable  historical  discourse  delivered  upon  the  com- 
pletion of  the  first  century  after  the  full  organization  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  in  this  place  deeply  interested  the  whole  congregation.  The  universal 
feeling  is  that  a  narrative  so  instructive,  so  carefully  prepared,  and  the  fruit  of 
so  much  research,  should  be  published  in  order  to  its  permanent  preservation. 
Accordingly  at  a  meeting  of  the  Congregation  the  undersigned  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  solicit  a  copy  for  publication. 

Earnestly  hoping  that  you  will  comply  with  this  request,  we  are 
Very  respectfully  yours 

W.  Henry  Green, 
James  H.  Wikoff, 
Henry  E.  Hale. 


No  one  can  more  deeply  regret  than  the  writer  of  the  Sermon  the  delays 
which  have  occurred  in  preparing  it  for  publication.  It  was  written  in  haste, 
amidst  the  pressure  of  daily  duties,  and  in  such  scraps  of  time  as  could  be 
found  in  the  intervals  of  regular  occupations.  Portions  of  it  were  little  more 
than  notes.  For  reasons  which  it  is  not  necessary  to  mention  the  work  of 
revision  was  unavoidably  slow. 

Free  use  has  been  made  of  all  accessible  sources  of  information. 
Among  the  authorities  consulted  have  been  the  manuscript  records  of  the 
Session  and  Trustees ;  the  historical  notes  appended  to  the  Sermons  of  Dr. 
Ashbel  Green  (kindly  placed  in  my  hands  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cameron) ;  the 
Historical  Discourse  preached  by  the  Rev.  W.  E.  Schenck,  D.D.,  in  1850; 
Dr.  Macdonald's  pamphlets  entitled,  respectively.  Some  Reminiscences  of  a 
Twenty  Years'  Ministiy  in  Princeton,  and,  A  Century  in  the  History  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  Princeton,  with  Special  Reference  to  its  Houses  of 
Worship  ;[^_Hageman's  History  of  Pi^inceton  and  its  InstitutionsjJ  Hodge's 
Constitutional  Histoiy  of  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  The  Log  College,  by  Dr. 
A.  Alexander;  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit;  Corwin's  Manual 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  ;  the  Biographies  of  Drs.  Archibald  and  Joseph 
Addison  Alexander,  and  of  Dr.  Miller ;  and  the  Familiar  Letters  of  Dr.  James 
W.  Alexander. 

The  writer  cannot  forbear  speaking  of  the  sadness  felt  at  the  time  of  the 
delivery  of  the  Sermon  on  account  of  the  death,  then  recent,  of  the  Rev. 
Archibald  Alexander  Hodge,  D.D.,  a  devoted  son  of  the  church,  without 
whose  counsel  and  encouragement  the  task  of  its  preparation  would  have  been 
less  willingly  undertaken . 

It  is  hoped  that  the  members  of  this  ancient  church  will  find  in  its  history 
some  incentives  to  a  fuller  recognition  of  the  love  of  a  covenant-keeping  God, 
a  more  zealous  engagement  in  the  service  of  Christ,  and  a  more  confident 
expectation  of  the  ultimate  triumph  of  His  Kingdom. 

Princeton,  February  27th,  1888. 


Psalm  cxlv:  4. 

One  generation  shall  praise  thy  works  to  another,  and  shall  declare 
thy  mighty  acts. 

The  wi'iter  of  a  discourse  like  the  present  girds  himself  for  a 
task  of  no  small  difficulty.  He  aims  to  bring  again  to  view  a 
vanished  and  almost  forgotten  past ;  to  retouch  and  freshen 
pictui-es  that  have  well-nigh  faded  from  the  tablets  of  memory ; 
to  wave  an  enchanter's  wand  over  the  graves  of  by-gone  genera- 
tions and  evoke  from  lips  long  silent  counsel  and  instruction  for 
the  living  present.  For  the  accomplishment  of  such  a  work  the 
means  are  not  abundant.  Early  records,  if  not  wholly  wanting, 
are  often  scanty  and  unsatisfactory.  Sources  of  information, 
once  available,  are  now  sealed  up  forever.  Stores  of  personal 
biography  and  reminiscence,  and  of  family  and  social  history, 
which  would  have  greatly  enriched  the  narrative  and  given  it  a 
completeness  not  otherwise  attainable,  have  sunk  into  the  gulf  of 
oblivion.  Even  when  precise  statements  of  fact  are  at  hand  it 
is  not  easy  to  read  between  their  lines  the  story  of  the  hoj^es  and 
fears,  the  struggles,  disappointments,  and  triumphs,  which  make 
up  not  the  least  important  chapters  in  the  annals  of  a  Christian 
congregation.  After  the  best  has  been  done  we  have  but  the 
colorless  picture  of  distant  scenes  over  which  the  shadows  of 
twilight  are  gathering. 

Yet  it  is  meet  and  right  to  make  the  attempt,  however  dif- 
ficult ;  not  indeed  for  the  mere  sake  of  the  entertainment  to  be 
derived  from  a  story  of  by-gone  days,  nor  for  the  purpose  of 


8  SEBMON. 

gratifying  an  antiquarian  taste ;  but  rather  that  wholesome  and 
cheering  lessons  concerning  the  persistence  of  spiritual  force,  the 
stability  of  the  divine  covenant,  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the 
Redeemer  in  all  His  dealings  with  His  Church,  and  the  assured 
progress  toward  ultimate  triumph  of  the  Kingdom  of  God,  may 
be  profoundly  impressed  upon  our  minds.  As  a  grain  of  sand  or 
a  dew-drop  may  illustrate  universal  laws  no  less  than  a  blazing 
sun,  so  even  the  story  of  a  village  parish  may  show  forth  the 
love  and  mercy  and  faithfulness  of  Grod  as  clearly  as  the  widest 
inductions  of  the  history  of  the  Universal  Church.  In  the  most 
limited  as  well  as  in  the  largest  sphere  of  reminiscence  and 
experience,  one  generation  ever  has  cause  to  praise  His  works 
to  another,  and  to  declare  His  mighty  acts. 

In  the  prosecution  of  my  present  design,  I  shall  first  sketch 
the  history  of  our  church  prior  to  its  completed  organization  in 
1786,  and  afterwards  follow  the  order  of  the  successive  pastorates. 
An  entry  in  the  family  register  of  Nathaniel  Fitz-E,andolph, 
[who  was  born  in  this  place  in  1703,  tells  us  that  Princeton  was 
first  so  called  in  1724.     The  earlier  designation  of  the  district 
I  was  Stony  Brook.     The  origin  of  the  name  is  uncertain.     Some 
I    have  seen  in  it  a  tribute  of  respect  to  the  Prince  of  the  house  of 
Orange-Nassau,  in  honor  of  whom  the  first  building  erected  by 
the  College  was  styled  Nassau  Hall.     More  probably  its  prox- 
imity to  the  older  settlement  of  Kingston   suggested  as  highly 
appropriate    for    this    locality    the    name    of    Princetown    or 
Princeton. 

The  name  does  not  mark  the  date  of  settlement.  We  cannot 
indeed  boast  of  as  ancient  an  origin  as  many  other  towns  in  the 
State.  Lying  near  the  border  Hne  between  the  provinces  of  East 
and  West  Jersey,  this  region  was  to  both  provinces  virtually  a 


SERMON.  9 

frontier,  and  was  less  easily  reached  by  the  tides  of  emigration 
than  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Delaware  and  the  Raritan. 
Yet  before  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  pioneers  of  the 
coming  population  arrived.  According  to  an  ancient  map  now 
in  the  possession  of  the  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  one  Dr. 
Greenland  was  in  1685  the  owner  of  a  plantation  just  without 
the  limits  of  the  present  borough  on  the  east.  This  was  subse- 
quently known  as  the  Castle  Howard  or  Beatty  Farm,  and  more 
recently  was  the  property  successively  of  Captain  Thomas 
Lavender,  and  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Blodgett.  Not  far  from  this 
time  the  axes  of  other  settlers  were  ringing  against  the  thick 
trees  of  the  surrounding  forest.  Btit  of  greater  consequences  in 
its  bearing  ujion  the  future  life  and  character  of  Princeton  was 
the  advent  in  1696  of  a  little  colony  composed  of  members  of 
the  Society  of  Friends,  drawn  hither  through  the  influence  of 
William  Penn.  Their  principal  object  appears  to  have  been  to 
find  a  place  where  without  molestation  they  might  cherish  and 
practice  their  religious  beliefs.  These  excellent  men,  to  whom 
Princeton  owes  a  lasting  debt  of  gratitude,  were  Benjamin 
Clarke,  William  Olden,  Joseph  Worth,  Richard  Stockton,  and 
John  Hornor.^  They  established  themselves  in  the  neigborhood 
of  the  stream  known  to  the  Indians  as  Wopomog,  but  familiar 
to  us  as  Stony  Brook.  They  were  men  of  family,  and  large  land- 
holders. In  1709  they  erected  a  meeting-house  of  wood,  which 
was  replaced  in  1760  by  the  stone  edifice  still  standing. 

To  the  names  above  mentioned  should  be  added  those  of 
Benjamin  Fitz-Randolph  and  Thomas  Leonard,  as  prominent 
among  the  early  inhabitants  of  our  town. 


1.  It  is  an  interesting  and  suggestive  fact  that  there  ai'e  in  the 
membership  of  our  church  at  the  present  time  descendants  of  all  but 
one  of  these  men. 


10  SERMON. 

It  is  impossible  to  understand  the  history  of  our  own  or  of 
any  of  the  older  communities  in  our  northern  and  middle  states, 
without  adverting  to  the  religious  persecutions  and  political 
disturbances  which  prevailed  in  the  old  world  in  the  sixteenth 
and  seventeenth  centuries,  and  which  furnished  the  providential 
occasion  for  the  coming  to  this  country  of  large  numbers  of 
brave,  energetic,  and  devoted  men  whose  severe  ti'aining  in  the 
school  of  adversity  had  j)repared  them  to  establish  and  maintain 
not  only  their  personal  liberties  but  also  those  institutions  of 
good  government,  sound  learning,  and  pure  religion  which  they 
believed  essential  to  a  genuine  and  lasting  freedom.  With  the 
causes  which  drove  the  English  Puritans  to  New  England  we 
are  all  familiar.  From  New  England  many  came  to  Long  Island 
and  New  Jersey,  and  about  1665  settled  Elizabethtown,  Wood- 
bridge,  Middletown,  and  Shrewsbury.  Three  years  later  a 
colony  of  thirty  families  from  Branford,  Connecticut,  founded 
the  city  of  Newark.  About  1690,  Fairfield  in  West  Jersey  was 
settled  by  a  colony  from  the  town  of  the  same  name  in  Con- 
necticut.    Cape  May,  also,  was  a  Puritan  settlement. 

Emigration  from  Holland  began  in  the  seventeenth  century. 
So  distressing  was  the  condition  of  that  country  until  the  peace 
of  Niemeguen  was  wrested  from  France  in  1678  by  the  stubborn 
valor  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  that  the  desperate  inhabitants 
seriously  contemplated  an  emigration  en  masse  to  some  foreign 
shore.  Many  Hollanders  found  a  home  ij,  New  Jersey  and 
furnished  a  valuable  and  influential  element  in  its  popu- 
lation. They  established  themselves  in  Bergen,  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Newark,  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan,  and  in  other 
places.  In  our  own  neighborhood  they  planted  a  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  at  Three  Mile  Eun  in  1700,  at  New  Brunswick 


SEBMON.  11 

and  at  Six  Mile  Run  in  1717,  and  at  Harlingen,  then  known  as 
Sourland  and  Millstone,  in  ]  727. 

The  persecution  of  the  French  Huguenots  during  the  reign 
of  Louis  XIV,  culminating  in  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of 
Nantes  in  1685,  drove  to  this  country  many  thousands  of  thrifty, 
virtuous  and  godly  people,  some  of  whom  sought  an  abode  in 
New  Jersey  and  left  an  enduring  impress  upon  its  history  and 
institutions. 

So  far.  however,  as  the  history  of  religion  in  Princeton 
is  concerned  —  and  the  same  is  probably  true  of  the  entire 
State  —  the  most  important  emigration  was  that  of  the  per- 
secuted Presbyterian,  of  Scotland  and  the  North  of  Ireland, 
Hallam,  a  writer  whom  no  one  will  suspect  of  extreme  views, 
observes  in  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  his  Constitutional  History 
of  England,  concerning  the  government  of  Charles  II.:  "No 
part,  I  believe,  of  modem  history  for  so  long  a  period  can  be 
compared  for  the  wickedness  of  government  to  the  Scots  admin- 
istration of  this  reign.  *  *  *  The  enormities  of  this  detest- 
able government  are  far  too  numerous,  even  in  species,  to  be 
enumerated  in  this  slight  sketch."  Many  of  the  sufferers  crossed 
the  ocean  to  find  an  asylum  here.  A  little  book  written  by 
George  Scot,  at  the  instance,  it  is  believed,  of  the  Proprietors  of 
East  Jersey,  and  widely  circulated  in  Scotland,  affirmed  "that  it 
is  judged  the  interest  of  the  government  to  suppress  Presby- 
terian principles  altogether.  *  *  *  A  retreat,  where  by  law 
a  toleration  is  allowed,  doth  at  present  offer  itself  in  America, 
and  is  nowhere  else  to  be  found  in  his  Majesty's  dominions."  ^ 
"  This  is  the  era,  says  Bancroft,   "  at  which  East  New  Jersey, 


1.  See  Dr.  Schenck's  Historical  Discourse,  p.  11. 


12  SERMON. 

till  now  cliiefly  colonized  from  New  England,  became  the  asylum 
of  Scottish  Presbyterians  *  *  *  Is  it  strange  that  many 
Scottish  Presbyterians  of  virtue,  education,  and  courage,  blend- 
ing a  love  of  popular  liberty  with  religious  enthusiasm,  came  to 
East  New  Jersey  in  such  numbers  as  to  give  to  the  rising  com- 
monwealth a  character  which  a  century  and  a  half  has  not 
effaced  ?  "  ^  Emigrants  from  Scotland  founded  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Freehold  in  1692.  Under  its  influence  Presbyterian- 
ism  became  firmly  rooted  in  the  region  round  about.  "  At  vari- 
ous times  since,"  says  Dr.  W.  E.  Schenck,  "  many  families  which 
had  imbibed  in  that  church  a  knowledge  and  a  love  of  G-ospel 
truth,  have  removed  from  Monmouth  County  to  this  vicinity  and 
added  much  to  the  strength  of  this  church  and  congregation."  ^ 

The  persecution  in  Ireland  also  sent  great  numbers  of  the 
Presbyterians  of  Ulster  to  this  country.  Six  thousand  arrived 
in  1729,  and  before  the  middle  of  the  century  not  less  than 
twelve  thousand  annually,  for  several  successive  years,  sought 
our  shores.  Of  this  emigration  the  larger  part  came  to  Pennsyl- 
vania, but  New  Jersey  was  not  without  a  share  in  its  benefits.' 

Thus  did  Divine  Providence  sift  the  society  of  the  old  world 
to  prepare  an  elect  people  who  should  lay  the  foundations  of  all 
that  was  destined  to  be  good  and  great  in  the  coming  Republic 
of  the  West.  Later  years  have  witnessed  the  landing  at  our 
principal  sea-ports  of  vast  and  promiscuous  crowds  of  foreigners, 
some  of  them  endowed  with  the  highest  qualities  of  citizenship, 
and  bringing,  in  their  learning  and  virtue,  generous  contribu- 


1.  See  Dr.  Charles  Hodge's  Constitutional  History  of  the  Presbj'terian 
Church.    Part  I,  p.  64. 

2.  Historical  Discourse,  p.  12. 

3.  Hodge's  Constitutional  History.    Part  I,  p.  65. 


SERMON.  18 

tions  to  the  prosperity  of  our  commonwealth ;  but  many  of  them 
ignorant,  corrupt,  and  vicious,  enemies  of  religion  and  social 
order,  sowers  of  the  seed  of  pestilent  errors,  breeders  of  incalcu- 
lable mischief.  This  is  one  of  the  gravest  evils  of  the  day,  and 
gives  rise  to  questions  than  which  no  others  are  more  perplexing 
whether  to  the  statesman  or  the  Christian. 

It  was  not  so,  however,  at  the  time  of  which  we  speak. 
Facilities  of  travel  were  not  so  abundant  as  now ;  nor  were  the 
resources  of  the  country  so  far  developed  as  to  open  avenues  to 
the  ready  acquisition  of  wealth.  The  persecuted  might  find 
here  freedom  to  worship  God  according  to  their  views  <)f  the 
teaching  of  Holy  Writ ;  and  men  of  resolute  and  adventurous 
spirit  and  untiring  industry  might  hew  their  way  to  fortune, 
despite  the  hardships  that  environed  them ;  but  for  the  effemin- 
ate, the  idle,  the  parasites  of  society,  who,  as  wealth  accumulates 
and  civilization  advances,  contrive  to  live  at  the  general  expense, 
there  were  few  attractions.  Had  not  a  majority  of  our  early 
settlers  belonged  to  the  former  class,  the  Republic  of  the  United 
States  could  never  have  been  established  and  maintained. 

Princeton,  as  it  slowly  grew  with  the  movement  of  popula- 
tion from  the  Raritan  on  the  one  hand  and  the  Delaware  on  the 
other,  must,  as  its  subsequent  history  appears  to  indicate,  have 
shared  in  the  advantages  providentially  due  to  the  settlement  of 
New  Jersey  by  emigrants  whose  characteristics  were  thrift, 
industry,  enterprise,  and  godliness.  "  There  are,"  said  Dr. 
Schenck,  in  the  Discourse  from  which  we  have  already  quoted, 
"  many  names  still  among  you  which  bear  constant  testimony 
that  those  who  own  them  are  descended  from  Huguenots, 
Covenanters,  Hollanders,  and  Puritans ;  an  ancestry  than  which 
earth  can  exhibit  none  nobler." 


14  SERMON. 

.  That  in  the  tide  of  population  moving  toward  Princeton  in 
the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Presbyterian 
element  predominated,  is  an  obvious  inference  from  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  cordon  of  Presbyterian  churches  within  a  few 
miles  of  the  place.  The  Ewing  church,  originally  known  as  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Trenton,  was  founded  in  1709. 
The  church  at  Lawrenceville,  or  Maidenhead,  as  it  was  then 
called,  must  have  been  planted  somewhat  earlier  as  it  was  at 
that  date  looting  for  a  pastor.  At  Pennington,  then  known 
as  Hopewell,  a  house  of  worship  Vas  erected  in  1724  or 
1725.  Before  this,  however,  there  had  been  stated  preaching  in 
a  school-house.  At  Kingston  a  church  was  organized  in  1732  ; 
and  at  Cranbury  in  1739.  It  was  therefore  to  have  been 
expected  that  the  first  church  planted  in  Princeton  should  be 
Presbyterian.  As  early  as  1751,  as  the  records  of  the  Presbytery 
of  New  Brunswick  show,  the  church-going  inhabitants  had 
grown  weary  of  the  Sabbath  day's  journey  to  Kingston  on  the 
one  hand  or  to  Maidenhead  or  Pennington  on  the  other,  and 
made  application  to  the  Presbytery,  in  session  at  Woodbiiry,  to 
send  preachers  to  Princeton  and  grant  leave  for  the  erection  of 
a  church  edifice.  Kingston  church  being  then  vacant,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  recent  death  of  the  Reverend  Eleazar  Wales,  a 
motion  was  made  that  "the  supplies  should  be  equally  divided 
between  Kingstown  and  Princetown."  This  motion  did  not 
prevail.  "  The  Presbytery  taking  into  consideration  the  case  of 
Kingstown  and  Princetown,  do  judge  it  not  expedient  that  there 
be  two  places  of  meeting  upon  the  Sabbath,  but  do  recommend 
it  to  those  who  supply  them  that  they  preach  a  lecture  at 
Princetown  if  they  can."  In  1752  the  people  of  Princeton 
renewed    their    request   and   were   told   that    the    Presbytery 


SERMON.  15 

"  cannot  see  any  reason  to  alter  its  determination  at  present." 
Three  years  later,  however,  in  1755,  the  Presbytery,  sitting  at 
Lawrenceville,  responded  more  favorably  to  a  renewed  appli- 
cation:  "The  affair  of  Princeton  being  considered,  the  Presby- 
tery do  grant  leave  to  the  people  of  said  town  to  build  a  meeting 
house,  and  also  conclude  to  allow  them  supplies."  The  Reverend 
Messrs.  James  Davenport,  Israel  Read,  and  Samuel  Kennedy 
were  the  first  supplies  appointed.  In  what  building  public 
worship  was  held  there  is  now  no  possibility  of  ascertaining. 
We  are  warranted,  however,  in  dating  the  existence  of  a  Presby- 
terian congregation  in  this  place  from  May  twenty-seventh,  1755, 
when  the  above  mentioned  action  of  the  Presbytery  was  adopted. 
The  successive  attempts  between  the  years  1751  and  1755 
to  secure  the  establishment  of  a  church  in  Princeton  have  been 
thought  to  indicate,  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Schenck,  "that  previous 
to  the  location  of  the  College  here  there  must  have  been  a  con- 
siderable number  of  Presbyterians  in  the  place,  and  that  they 
had  fully  determined,  before  there  was  any  likelihood  of  the 
College  being  here  located,  on  having  a  church  edifice  and 
regular  divine  service  in  the  town."  But  is  it  not  equally  prob- 
able that  the  energetic  men  who  were  laboring  for  the  removal 
of  the  College  to  Princeton  believed  that  the  absence  of  a  church 
might  prove  a  serious  hindrance  to  their  plans,  and  that  they 
therefore  were  zealous  promoters  of  the  application  repeatedly 
urged  upon  the  Presbytery  ?  As  early  as  1747  Governor 
Belcher  not  only  named  Princeton  as  the  proper  site  of  the 
College,  but  also  affirmed  that  he  had  successfully  used  his 
influence  with  leading  men  of  East  and  West  Jersey  in  favor  of 
Princeton  as  a  central  location.  This  was  four  years  before  the 
first  movement  was  made  for  the  planting  of  a  church. 


16  SERMON. 

For  the  coming  hither  of  the  College  our  town  was  indebted 
to  the  public  spirit  and  liberality  of  Nathaniel  Fitz-Eandolph, 
Thomas  Leonard,  John  Stockton,  and  John  Homor.  This  insti- 
tution, chartered  by  Governor  Hamilton  in  1746,  and  re-chartered 
by  Governor  Belcher  in  1748,  had  its  first  abode  in  Elizabeth- 
town  under  the  presidency  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson, 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  church  in  that  place,  a  physician  also 
of  high  repute,  an  experienced  teacher,  a  distinguished  author, 
and  a  clergyman  of  extensive  influence.  By  his  contemporaries 
he  was  ranked  with  the  illustrious  Edwards  as  a  writer  on 
divinity ;  and  it  has  been  said  of  him  in  more  recent  times  that 
with  the  exception  of  Edwards,  Calvinism  has  never  found  an, 
abler  champion.  The  bright  hopes  to  which  his  intellectual 
ability  and  practical  wisdom  gave  rise  were  doomed  to  sudden 
disappointment  in  his  decease  which  occurred  October  seventh, 
1747. 

, /■  The  successor  of  Mr.  Dickinson  was  the  Rev.  Aaron  Burr, 
pastor  of  the  church  and  teacher  of  a  classical  school  at  Newark, 
to  which  place  the  College  was  removed. 

The  founders  of  the  College  appear  from  the  first  to  have 
desired  a  location  central  to  the  whole  State.  On  any  other 
supposition  it  is  difiicult  to  understand  why  the  citizens  neither 
of  Elizabethtown  nor  of  Newark  endeavored  to  secure  its  per- 
manent establishment  among  themselves.  Both  have  become 
flourishing  and  populous  cities,  but  neither  has  won  the  fame 
which  the  College  of  New  Jersey  has  given  to  the  otherwise 
inconsiderable  village  of  Princeton. 

The  minds  of  the  trustees  appear  to  have  been  divided 
between  New  Brunswick  and  Princeton,  for  they  voted  Septem- 
ber twenty-sixth,  1750:  "  That  a  proposal  be  made  to  the  towns 


SERMON.  17 

of  Brunswick  and  Princeton  to  try  what  sum  of  money  they  can 
raise  for  building  of  the  College,  by  the  next  meeting,  that  the 
trustees  may  be  better  able  to  judge  in  which  of  these  places  to 
fix  the  place  of  the  College."  In  the  following  year  a  definite 
proposition  was  made  to  New  Brunswick,  the  terms  of  which 
were  not  complied  with.  Many  of  the  citizens  of  that  place  were 
adherents  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  and  probably  were 
not  sufficiently  enthusiastic  in  behalf  of  an  institution  under 
Presbyterian  control  to  contribute  the  requisite  lands  and 
moneys.  Possibly  they  had  some  happy  prevision  of  the  events 
which  made  New  Brunswick  the  educational  centre  of  their  own 
denomination.  However  this  may  have  been,  the  terms  which 
were  deemed  too  difficult  by  New  Brunswick  were  promptly 
complied  with  by  little  Princeton,  under  the  energetic  leadership 
of  the  citizens  whose  names  have  been  already  given,  and, 
Nassau  Hall  having  been  erected — the  largest  building  at  that 
tiuie  in  the  country — President  Burr  came  hither  with  seventy 
students  in  the  autumn  of  1756.' 

The  effect  upon  the  interests  of  religion  in  the  village  was 
great  and  immediate.  The  Hall  or  Chapel  in  the  College  build- 
ing afforded  a  suitable  place  for  public  worship.  It  was  described 
by  President  Finley  as  "  an  elegant  hall  of  genteel  workmanship, 
being  a  square  of  near  forty  feet,  with  a  neatly  finished  front 
gallery.  Here  is  a  small  though  exceedingly  good  organ  which 
was  obtained  by  a  voluntary  subscription,  opposite  to  which  and 
of  the  same  height  is  erected  a  stage  for  the  use  of  the  students 
in  then*  public  exhibitions.  It  is  also  ornamented  on  one  side 
with  a  poi-trait  of  his  late  Majesty  at  full  length,  and  on  the 
other  with  a  like  picture  of  his  Excellency  Governor  Belcher."' 


1.  Note  to  Dr.  Ashbel  Green's  Sermons',  p.  304. 


18  SERMON. 

Here  until  the  year  1768  the  families  of  the  town  and  the  stu- 
dents worshipped  together,  the  former  paying  pew-rents  to  the 
trustees  of  the  College.  Here  were  enjoyed  the  ministrations  of 
a  succession  of  learned,  eloquent  and  holy  men,  the  brightest 
ornaments  of  the  American  Church.  The  Sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  was  administered  from  time  to  time,  under  the 
direction  of  the  Presbytery. 

The  useful  and  abundant  labors  of  President  Burr  were 
brought  to  a  close  by  his  death  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  Septem- 
ber, 1757.  During  his  brief  stay  in  Princeton  his  preaching  was 
attended  by  a  religious  awakening  of  remarkable  power,  concern - 
ing  which  the  Rev.  William  Tennent,  Jr.,  wrote  to  Dr.  (after- 
wards President)  Finley  :  "I  went  to  College  last  Monday  .  .  . 
and  saw  as  astonishing  a  display  of  G-od's  power  and  grace  as  I 
ever  saw  or  heard  of,  in  the  conviction  of  sinners.  .  .  .  Nor  was 
it  confined  to  the  students  only.  .  .  The  President  never  shone 
in  my  eyes  as  he  does  now.  His  good  judgment,  and  humility, 
his  zeal  and  integrity  greatly  endear  him  to  me."  ^ 

The  successor  of  President  Burr  was  his  father-in-law,  the 
V  elder  Jonathan  Edwards.  The  fame  of  President  Edwards  as  a 
philosopher,  theologian  and  preacher,  has  passed  into  history. 
No  man  since  his  day  has  so  influenced  and  shaped  the  religious 
thought  of  Great  Britain  and  America.  Possessing  an  intellect 
both  acute  and  profound,  a  tender  sensibility,  a  poetic  imagina- 
tion, and  a  piety  that  blended  a  childlike  humility  and  trustful- 
ness with  the  rapt  ardor  of  a  seraph,  he  was  at  once  "  a  scholastic 
and  a  mystic  ;  a  scholastic  in  the  subtlety  of  his  analysis  and  the 
sustained  rigor  of  his  reasonings,  and  a  mystic  in  the  sensitive 
delicacy  of  his  emotive  tenderness  and  the  idealistic  elevation  of 


1.  The  "  Log  College,"  by  A.  Alexander,  D,D.,  pp.  368,  369. 


SERMON.  19 

his  imaginative  creations  which  at  times  almost  transfigured  his 
Christian  faith  into  the  beatific  vision." 

At  this  time  he  had  been  subjected  to  the  mortification  of  a^ 
forced  dismission  from  his  pastoral  charge  at  Northampton,. 
Massachusetts,  on  account  of  disaffection  caused  bj  his  rebukes 
of  immorality  and  his  opposition  to  views  then  largely  prevalent 
concerning  the  proper  qualification  for  admission  to  the  Lord's 
Table ;  and  was  living  at  Stockbridge,  where  he  served  in  the 
double  capacity  of  pastor  of  a  small  Congregational  church  and 
missionary  to  the  Housatonic  Indians.  Having  given  a  modest 
and  reluctant  assent  to  the  call  of  the  trustees  of  the  College,  he 
came  to  Princeton  in  January,  1 758.  His  stay  was  destined  to 
be  brief.  He  preached  a  few  times  in  the  College  hall  to  the 
great  delight  and  profit  of  his  hearers.  Concerning  one  sermon 
in  particular,  on  the  Unchangeableness  of  Christ,  the  tradition 
is  that  the  audience  listened  more  than  two  hours  with  such 
absorbed  interest  as  to  be  almost  wholly  unconscious  of  the  flight 
of  time.  As  president  he  did  Uttle  more  than  give  some  questions 
in  divinity  to  the  Senior  class.  His  death  occurred  nine  weeks 
after  his  arrival  in  Princeton  and  five  weeks  after  his  inaugura- 
tion as  president,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  Labors, 
trials,  sorrows,  anxieties,  privations,  had  so  enfeebled  his  frame 
that  he  fell  before  a  slight  stroke  of  disease.  What  possibilities 
of  blessing  to  the  college  and  to  the  church  in  Princeton  were 
buried  in  his  grave,  we  may  not  attempt  to  say. 

His  successor,  after  a  brief  interval,  during  which  the  col- 
V  lege  pulpit  was  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Jacob  G-reen,  father  of  the 
late  President  Ashbel  Grreen,  was  Samuel  Davies,  "  the  Apostle 
of  Virginia."     He  entered  upon  his  duties  September  twenty- 
sixth,   1759.      Mr.   Davies  was  a  man  of   eminent    piety  and 


20  8EBM0N. 

renowned  for  the  power  and  splendor  of  his  pulpit  oi'atory.  His 
sermons  of  which  several  editions  have  been  printed,  are  to  this 
day  worthy  of  the  attention  as  well  of  the  theological  student 
and  preacher,  as  of  the  private  Christian.  As  was  the  case  with 
his  immediate  predecessors,  his  brilliant  career  came  to  a  speedy 
end.  He  died  on  the  fourth  of  February,  1761,  in  the  thirty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age,  having  held  his  important  position  but 
eighteen  moiiths. 

y  The  Rev.  Samuel  Finley  was  installed  in  the  presidency  on 
the  thirtieth  of  September,  1761.  He  was  a  native  of  Ireland, 
but  received  his  training  for  the  ministry  at  the  school  known 
as  the  "  Log  College,"  established  by  the  elder  William  Tennent 
at  Neshaminy,  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania.  An  historical 
interest  attaches  to  this  school  as  the  first  literary  institu- 
tion of  a  high  grade  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  America.^  Dr.  Finley — he  was  the  first  American 
Presbyterian  on  whom  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Divinity  was  conferred — while  active  and  zealous  in  ministerial 
labors,  was  also  a  distinguished  classical  scholar  and  teacher, 
having  established  an  academy  at  Nottingham,  Maryland,  in 
which  many  young  men  who  afterwards  rose  to  eminence  in 
church  and  state  received  their  education. 

The  ministry  of  Dr.  Finley  in  Princeton  was  blessed  with  a 
revival  of  religion  which  was  felt,  according  to  the  testimony  of 
the  Rev.  John  Woodhull  of  Freehold,  then  a  student  in  the 
College,  not  only  throughout  the  town  but  also  in  the  adjacent 
country.  "It  began,"  he  wrote,  "in  1762,  in  the  Freshman 
class  to  which  I  then  belonged  .  .  .  Every  class  became  a 
praying  society.    .    .    .    Societies  were  also  held  by  the  students 

1.  The  Log  College,  by  A.  Alexander,  D.I).,  p.  11. 


SERMON.  21 

in  the  town  and  in  the  country."  ^  In  1763,  possibly  while  this 
awakening  was  still  in  progress,  George  Whitetield,  the  evan- 
gelist whose  apostolic  zeal  had  stirred  the  slumbering  churches 
of  England  and  America,  and  wrought  a  work  the  fruits  of 
which  remain  to  this  day,  visited  Princeton  as  the  guest  of  Dr. 
Finley,  and  preached  several  times.  This  visit  is  referred  to  by 
a  biographer  of  Whitefield  as  attended  with  "  approbation  and 
success,"  but  no  particulars  are  given. 

The  erection  of  a  house  of  worship  was  an  event  of  great 
interest  and  importance.  Permission  to  build  had  been  given 
by  the  Presbytery  in  1755,  but  seven  years  were  allowed  to  pass 
before  a  beginning  was  made,  and  such  were  the  difficulties  that 
beset  the  undertaking  that  four  years  more  elapsed  befoi'e  the 
building  was  finished.  One  effect  of  the  revival,  doubtless,  was 
an  increased  attendance  on  public  worship,  and  a  consequent 
need  of  larger  accommodations  than  the  College  Hall  afforded. 
For  the  college  commencements,  also,  more  room  must  have  been 
required.  Accordingly  negotiations,  numerous  and  of  long  con- 
tinuance, were  entered  upon  between  the  congregation  and  the 
corporation  of  the  college.  At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  of  the 
college,  held  September  twenty-ninth,  1762,  it  was  voted  "  that 
the  determination  of  the  ten  trustees  expressed  in  a  paper  signed 
by  them  and  dated  April,  1762,  respecting  the  gift  of  a  lot  of  land 
for  the  erecting  of  the  church  now  in  building  be  confirmed." 
At  a  subsequent  meeting,  held  September  twenty-eighth,  1763,  it 
was  ordered  "  that  Mr.  William  P.  Smith,  Mr.  Woodruff,  Doctor 
Redman,  Mr.  Treat,  and  Mr.  Brainerd  be  a  committee  to  settle  with 
the  Congregation  respecting  the  lot  of  land  which  this  board  here- 
tofore has  ordered  to  be  conveved  to  them  for  the  erection  of  a 


1.  Notes  to  President  Gveen'a  Sermons,    p.  377. 


-22  SERMON. 

church  and  for  a  burying  ground,  and  that  the  committee  have 
full  power  to  offer  the  congregation  such  terms  as  they  think 
proper  in  consideration  of  their  releasing  their  claim  to  the  lot 
of  land  ;  and  to  make  such  other  agreement  with  the  congrega- 
tion touching  the  premises  as  the  committee  shall  judge  proper." 
"It  appears  from  this  minute,"  says  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  "that  the 
lot  of  land  granted  by  the  trustees  to  the  congregation  of  Prince- 
ton for  the  erection  of  a  church  and  for  a  burial  ground  was  at 
this  time  expected  to  revert  to  the  College.  This,  however,  did 
not  take  place.  ...  A  church  was  built  on  the  lot  originally 
given  by  the  college  ;  the  trustees  of  the  college  lent  about  £700^ 
to  the  congregation  to  aid  in  building  the  church ;  .  .  the  money 
loaned  to  the  congregation  was  eventually  repaid.  .  .  .  The 
college  has  by  contract  an  exclusive  right  to  the  church  on  the 
day  of  commencement,  on  the  evening  that  precedes  it,  and  at 
such  other  times  as  the  faculty  shall  state  in  writing  that  it  is 
needed  for  the  public  exercises  of  the  institution,  and  also  a 
claim  to  one-half  the  gallery  for  the  use  of  the  students  on  the 
Sabbath."  ■'^  No  conveyance  of  the  land  was  made  to  the  church 
at  that  time.  This  did  not  take  place  until  1816,  "when  Doctor 
Green  as  president  of  the  college  executed  the  deed  with  its 
reservations  and  conditions."  ^  The  church  stood  on  the  lot 
which  we  now  occupy,  but  was  built  with  its  side  towai'd  the 
street.  It  was  a  brick  structure  containing  fifty-seven  pews, 
and  galleries  on  three  sides,  A  plan  of  the  pews  with  the  names 
of  pew-holders  and  subscribers  may  be  seen  in  Mr.  Hageman's 


1.  This  was  in  the  currency  known  as  "proclamation  money,"  and  was 
•equal  to  about  $1700. 

2.  Notes  to  Dr.  Ashbel  Gi'een's  Discourses,  pp.  358,  360. 
-3.  Hageman's  History  of  Princeton,  pp.  81,  82. 


SERMON.  23 

History  of  Princeton.  Among  the  principal  members  of  the 
congregation  at  this  time  appear  to  have  been  Richard  Stockton, 
Ezekiel  Forman,  Dr.  Wiggins,  Jonathan  Baldwin,  Job  Stockton, 
Jonathan  Sergeant,  Derrick  Longstreet,  Isaac  Van  Dike,  John 
Schenck,  Richard  Paterson,  Jacob  Scudder  of  the  Mills,  and 
Abraham  Cniser  of  Mapleton. 

The  decease  of  Dr.  Finley  occurred  July  sixteenth,  1766,  in 
the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age.  His  connection  with  the  college 
had  proved  greatly  to  its  advantage.  His  plans  for  its  improve- 
ment and  his  correspondence  with  learned  men  in  Great  Britain 
extended  its  reputation.  His  pulpit  ministrations  which  were 
of  a  high  order  of  excellence  had  been  a  source  of  blessing  to  the 
entire  community.  The  depth  and  spirituality  of  his  religious 
experience  were  wonderfully  manifested  in  the  triumphant  joys 
and  holy  ecstasies  of  his  dying  hours.  These  have  been  impres- 
sively described  in  a  tract  entitled  "The  Death  of  Hume  and  of 
Finley  compared,"  by  the  late  Rev.  John  M.  Mason,  D.D.,  of 
New  York. 

The  pulpit  of  the  church  was  now  supplied  for  a  time  by 
the  Rev.  William  Tennent,  and  by  the  Rev.  John  Blair,  vice- 
president  of  the  college,  and  professor  of  theology. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  August,  1768,  the  Rev.  Dr.  John 
^  Witherspoon  was  inducted  into  the  presidency  of  the  college. 
He  had  come  from  a  pastoral  charge  in  Paisley,  Scotland,  and 
was  highly  esteemed  for  scholarship,  efficiency,  and  wisdom. 
"On  the  mother's  side  he  traced  an  unbroken  line  of  ministerial 
ancestry  through  a  period  of  more  than  two  hundred  years,  to 
the  great  Reformer  John  Knox."^  Characterized  by  large  views, 
great  public  spirit,  and  unusual  capacity  for  affairs,    he   was 


1.  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  Vol.  3,  p. ! 


24  SEBMON. ' 

destined  to  render  important  service,  not  only  to  the  institution 
which  had  foi'tunately  secured  him  as  its  head,  but  also  to  the 
country  at  large,  at  a  critical  juncture  in  its  history.  He  broad- 
ened the  college  curriculum,  added  to  the  library  and  scientific 
apparatus,  and  augmented  the  funds.  He  was  an  earnest  and 
able  preacher,  carefully  preparing  his  sermons  and  delivering 
them  from  memory;  and  his  labors  promoted  the  growth  of  the 
church.  1*he  first  few  years  of  his  administration  were  thus  an 
era  of  j^rosperity  and  progress  in  all  directions.  But  the  out- 
break of  the  war  of  the  Revolution  brought  about  serious,  and, 
for  a  time,  calamitous,  changes.  Princeton,  owing  to  its  central 
position,  and  the  conspicuous  j^atriotism  of  many  of  its  leading 
citizens,  held  throughout  the  struggle  an  important  and  honor- 
able place.  The  names  of  John  Witherspoon  and  Richard  Stock- 
ton, both  of  whom  were  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence ;  of  Jonathan  Dickinson  Sergeant,  and  of  other  patriotic 
Princeton  Presbyterians,  are  written  in  letters  of  gold  in  the 
annals  of  the  Republic  which  their  wisdom  and  valor  helped  to 
create.  President  Witherspoon  was  an  influential  member  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  when  yoimger  men  were  whisper- 
ing doubts,  and  hesitating  as  to  the  adoption  of  the  Declaration, 
his  enthusiasm  for  liberty  found  vent  in  burning  words.  "To 
hesitate,"  he  exclaimed,  "  is  to  consent  to  our  slavery. 
Although  these  gray  hairs  must  soon  descend  into  the  sepulchre, 
I  would  infinitely  rather  that  they  descend  thither  by  the  hand 
of  the  executioner,  than  desert  at  this  crisis  the  sacred  cause  of 
my  country." 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  having  on  the 
second  of  July,  1776,  adopted  a  State  Constitution,  the  first 
legislature  under  this  instrument  assembled  at  Prmceton  in  the 


SERMON.  25 

College  Library,  on  the  twenty-seventh  day  of  the  following 
month.  On  the  third  of  January,  1777,  the  battle  of  Princeton 
was  fought ;  a  battle  of  the  utmost  importance,  when  its  moral 
effects  are  considered,  since  it  was  fought  at  a  time  when  the 
affairs  of  the  infant  nation  were  in  a  gloomy  condition,  and 
demonstrated  the  skill  of  Washington  as  a  strategist,  and  the 
ability  of  the  Continental  armies  to  cope  successfully  with  their 
thoroughly  equipped  and  highly  disciplined  antagonists. 

Serious  disturbance  and  disaster  resulted  from  the  war. 
Lord  Cornwallis,  pursuing  the  array  of  Washington,  reached 
Princeton  early  in  December,  1776.  His  troops  immediately 
seized  the  college  and  the  church  for  barracks.  The  church  was 
stripped  of  its  furniture,  aud  a  fii-e-place  built  in  it.  The  neigh- 
boring farms  were  robbed  of  cattle  and  provisions.  Morven  and 
Tusculum,  the  homes,  respectively,  of  Richard  Stockton  and  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  were  plundered.  The  large  house  of  Mr.  Sergeant, 
standing  near  the  present  junction  of  Mercer  and  Nassau  streets, 
was  burned.  Looking  upon  the  inhabitants  as  "rebels,"  the 
invaders  were  not  disjjosed  to  respect  their  feelings  and  their 
rights,  but  ravaged  the  entire  vicinage.  After  the  expulsion  of 
the  British  troops,  the  church  and  the  college  were  occupied  by 
American  soldiers  until  1781. 

It  thus  appears  that  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution  the 
public  services  of  religion  in  Princeton  must  have  been  infrequent 
if  they  did  not  wholly  cease.  Dr.  Witherspoon' s  duties  in  Con- 
gress demanded  his  presence  there,  and  there  is  reason  to  believe 
that  for  three  years  there  was  no  resident  clergyman  in  the  vil- 
lage. In  fact  there  could  have  been  no  suitable  place  for  public 
worship.  The  memoirs  of  Dr.  Ashbel  Green  inform  us  that  the 
church  was  not  even  temporarily  refitted  until  the  autumn  of 


26  SERMON. 

1783,  after  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace  with  G-reat 
Britain.  At  that  time  the  college  held  commencement  exercises, 
and,  as  Congress  was  then  in  session  in  Princeton,  many  distin- 
guished men  were  present,  among  whom  were  General  Washing- 
ton and  the  ministers  of  Trance  and  Holland. 

Prom  this  point  the  historian  of  our  church  is  greatly 
aided  by  the  manuscript  records,  first,  of  certain  proceedings  of 
the  Congregation  prior  to  the  appointment  of  Trustees,  and  sub- 
sequently, of  the  Board  of  Trustees.  From  these  records  we 
learn  that  a  meeting  of  the  "Congregation  of  Princeton"  was 
held  on  the  eighth  of  March,  1784,  when  it  was  "Agreed  that  it 
was  necessary  immediately  to  open  a  subscription  for  repairing  the 
Church  in  this  Town  and  for  defraying  in  part  the  principal  debt 
upon  it  for  which  a  Committee  of  this  Congregation  stand  bound 
to  the  Trustees  of  the  College  in  the  sum  of  about  seven  hundred 
Pounds."  Mr.  Enos  Kelsey  "  was  chosen  Treasurer  for  the  Pur- 
pose," Messrs.  Robert  Stockton,  James  Hamilton  and  John  Lit- 
tle "  were  chosen  Managers  to  purchase  materials  and  employ 
Workmen  and  supei'intend  the  whole  of  the  Repairs."  It  was 
also  decided  that  the  pews  should  be  rented  at  the  discretion  of 
the  above-mentioned  committee.  These  minutes  were  signed  by 
Enos  Kelsey,  William  Scudder,  Elias  Woodruff,  James  Moore, 
Isaac  Anderson,  Robert  Stockton,  Aaron  Longstreet,  James 
Hamilton,  Andrew  McMakin,  Jonathan  Deare,  Thomas  Stockton, 
John  Little,  A.  Mattison.  A  subscription  paper  was  drawn  up 
under  date  of  March  eleventh,  1784,  and  received  the  signatures 
of  fifty-four  persons  whose  contributions  amounted  to  d£375. 
At  a  "  meeting  held  at  Mr.  Beekman's  Long  Room,"  September 
first,  1785,  Mr.  Mattison  was  appointed  to  collect  unpaid  pew- 
rents  and  subscriptions,  receiving  as  compensation  a  commission 


SERMON.  27 

of  two  and  one-half  per  cent,  on  the  sums  collected.  That  the 
congrep^ation  was  of  respectable  size  at  this  time  may  be  inferred 
from  the  fact  that  the  pews,  numbering  fifty-seven  exclusive 
of  gallery  seats,  were  rented,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  imme- 
diately after  the  reopening  of  the  church. 

Owing  to  the  losses  of  property  suffered  during  the  war 
there  seems  to  have  been  no  little  difiiculty  in  providing  adequate 
means  for  the  maintenance  of  public  worship.  It  was  probably 
on  this  account  that  at  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  "  held  at 
Mr.  Reading's  Long  Room  "  January  fifth,  1786,  it  was  "  Agreed 
that  Mr.  Richard  Longstreet,  Mr.  Mattison,  Mr.  Lane,  Dr.  Wig- 
gins, Colonel  Scudder  and  Dr.  Beatty  be  a  committee  to  confer 
with  the  committee  of  the  congregation  at  Kingston  on  the  Sub- 
ject of  uniting  the  two  Congregations  in  the  Support  of  a  Gospel 
Minister ;  and  also  of  applying  to  the  Legislature  at  their  next 
sitting  for  an  act  of  Incorporation."  Dr.  Beatty  was  at  the 
same  time  chosen  clerk  of  the  congregation. 

The  negotiation  with  the  church  at  Kingston  came  to  nothing 
in  consequence  of  a  disagreement  as  to  the  division  of  the  pastor's 
services.  Princeton  feeling  its  importance  as  a  college  town, 
claimed  the  larger  share,  offering,  however,  to  pay  a  correspond- 
ing share  of  his  salary ;  an  arrangement  which  did  not  find 
favor  with  the  older  church. 

On  the  thirteenth  of  April,  1786,  the  committee  appointed 
to  apply  to  the  Legislature  for  an  act  of  incorporation  were 
instructed  to  prepare  a  draft  of  such  a  law.  It  was  further 
"  Agreed  that  seven  persons,  members  of  this  congregation,  be 
chosen  at  the  next  meeting,  to  be  incorporated  in  the  law  as  the 
first  trustees,"  and  that  at  the  next  meeting  four  elders  be  chosen 
by  ballot  who  shall  continue  in  office  during  the  pleasure  of  the 


28  SERMON. 

congregation."  On  the  twenty-first  of  February,  1786,  Richard 
Longstreet,  James  Hamilton,  Thomas  Blackwell,  and  John 
Johnstone  were  elected  to  the  ofiice  of  Ruling  Elder.  At  the 
same  time  the  thanks  of  the  congregation  were  presented  to  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Witherspoon  "  for  his  long  and  important  services," 
and  he  was  requested  "  to  continue  his  public  labors  and  exercise 
a  pastoral  cajce"  over  the  church.  Suitable  compensation  for 
his  services  was  pledged.  Messrs.  Richard  Longstreet,  Robert 
Stockton,  John  Little,  Enos  Kelsey,  James  Moore,  Isaac  Ander- 
son, and  William  Scudder,  were  chosen  Trustees.  The  same 
gentlemen  were  re-elected  May  twenty-fifth,  1786,  the  legislature 
of  New  Jersey  having  on  the  sixteenth  of  March  passed  a  general 
law  entitled  "  An  Act  to  incorporate  certain  Persons  as  Trustees 
in  every  religioiis  Society  or  Congregation  in  this  state,  for  trans- 
acting the  Temporal  Concerns  thereof."  Under  the  authority  of 
this  Act,  the  trustees  some  years  later  adopted  a  corporate  seal 
of  appropriate  design,  significant  of  the  passing  away  of  the 
clouds  so  long  overhanging  the  church  and  bearing  the  motto, 
Speremus  Meliora. 

Thus  did  the  church  struggle  through  many  and  sore  diffi- 
culties to  complete  organization.  Its  temporal  concerns  were 
now  under  the  management  of  legally  appointed  trustees.  Its 
spiritual  oversight  was  committed  to  a  properly  constituted  Ses- 
sion. It  is  to  be  j^resumed  that  Doctor  Witherspoon  returned  a 
favorable  reply  to  the  request  of  the  congregation  that  he  would 
"  take  upon  him  the  pastoral  charge  and  care  of  them,"  to  the 
extent  of  becoming  what  would  now  be  termed  the  Stated  Sup- 
plv  or  Acting  Pastor  of  the  church.  He  was  never  formally 
installed  in  the  pastoral  office  by  the  Presbytery.  Hitherto  the 
presidents  of  the  College  had  acted  as  pastors  without  the  assist- 


SEBMON.  29 

ance  of  ruling  elders,  and  it  is  a  cause  for  deep  and  lasting  regret 
that  no  record  of  their  proceedings  is  in  existence.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Woodhull  of  Freehold  said  that  he  was  admitted  to  church 
membership  by  Dr.  Finley.  In  the  sermon  preached  in  1781  by 
Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith  at  the  funeral  of  the  Honorable 
Richard  Stockton,  it  was  stated  that  Mr.  Stockton  was  "  for 
many  years  a  member  of  this  church."  Dr.  Ashbel  Green  relates 
that  he  was  admitted  to  membership  by  Dr.  Witherspoon  in 
1783. 

The  ministrations  of  Dr.  Witherspoon  were  continued  with 
some  interruptions  occasioned  by  infirm  health,  until  the  year 
before  his  decease,  which  took  place  November  fifteenth,  1794. 
During  the  last  year  of  his  term  of  service  he  was  blind,  but, 
being  led  into  the  pulpit,  preached  with  unabated  fervor  and 
solemnity.  In  his  character  learning,  wisdom,  and  piety  were 
happily  combined,  and  never  was  his  real  greatness  more  con- 
spicuous than  when  he  was  engaged  in  declaring  and  enforcing 
the  doctrines  of  the  Word  of  Grod.  "  Take  his  pulpit  addresses 
as  a  whole,  there  was  in  them  not  only  the  recommendation  of 
good  sense  and  powerful  reasoning,  but  a  gracefulness,  an 
earnestness,  a  warmth  of  affection  and  a  solemnity  of  manner, 
especially  toward  and  at  their  close,  such  as  were  calculated  to 
produce  the  very  best  effects  of  sacred  oratory.  Accordingly  his 
popularity  as  a  preacher  was  great."  ^  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander, 
who  saw  him  at  the  General  Assembly  in  1791,  says :  "  He  im- 
mediately participated  in  the  business,  and  evinced  such  an 
intuitive  clearness  of  apprehension  and  correctness  of  judgment, 
that  his  pointed  remarks  commonly  put  an  end  to  the  discussion. 
.    .    .    Dr.  Witherspoon  was  as  plain  an  old  man  as  ever  I  saw. 


1.  Sprague'.s  Annals,  Vol.  III.,  p.  299. 


30  SERMON. 

and  as  free  from  any  assumption  of  dignity.  All  lie  said  and 
everything  about  him  bore  the  marks  of  importance  and  author- 
ity."^ That  the  apparent  fruits  of  his  ministry  here  were  no 
greater  will  hardly  occasion  surprise  when  the  distracted  condi- 
tion of  society  growing  out  of  the  war  is  considered.  Throughout 
the  country  religious  apathy  on  the  one  hand,  and  infidelity  on 
the  other,  were  largely  prevalent.  I)r,  Ashbel  Green,  who  was 
graduated  from  the  college  in  1783,  tells  us  that  he  was  the  only 
professor  of  religion  in  a  class  of  fourteen,  and  that  many  of  his 
fellow  students  were  grossly  irreligious.  No  register  of  church 
members  was  made  until  1792,  when  fifty-three  names  were 
enrolled.  There  was  no  addition  to  the  roll  until  June  seventh, 
1795,  when  one  member  was  received.  For  several  years  the 
additions  were  few. 

On  the  first  of  September,  1793,  the  church  was  declared 
vacant  by  the  Presbytery,  and  on  the  following  day  the  Session 
resolved  to  recommend  to  the  congregation  the  issuing  of  a  call 
for  the  pastoral  services  of  Mr.  John  Abeel,  a  graduate  of  the 
college  in  the  class  of  1787,  and  a  licentiate  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church.  This  attempt  to  secure  a  pastor  proved  unavail- 
ing, and  the  church  remained  vacant  until  the  installation  of  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Finley  Snowden,  November  twenty-fifth,  1795. 

This  was  an  event  of  great  interest  and  importance  to  the 
congregation.  Hitherto  under  the  preaching  of  the  presidents 
of  the  college  they  had  enjoyed  a  privilege  that  can  seldom  fall 
to  the  lot  of  a  country  church,  but  they  had  lacked  pastoral 
oversight,  and  greatly  needed  such  attention  to  their  spiritual 
interests  as  could  be  expected  only  from  one  under  obligation  to 
devote  himself  wholly  to  them. 


1.  Life  of  Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  pp.! 


SERMON.  31 

Mr.  Snowden  was  at  this  time  twentv-eight  years  The  First 
of  age.  He  was  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  New  Pastor. 
Jersey  in  the  class  of  1786.  His  father,  Isaac  Snowden  of  Phila- 
delphia, was  a  man  of  benevolence  and  piety,  and  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  missionary  labors  of  David  Brainerd  among 
the  Indians  of  New  Jersey,  collecting  money  for  the  prosecution 
of  this  work,  and  otherwise  rendering  it  important  assistance. 
Samuel,  on  leaving  college,  devoted  himself  to  the  study  of  law, 
but  changed  his  purpose  after  his  conversion,  and  pursued  theo- 
logical studies  under  Drs.  Witherspoon  and  Smith.  He  remained 
in  Princeton  but  five  and  a  half  years,  impaired  health  inducing 
him  to  relinquish  his  pastoral  charge  in  the  Spring  of  1801. 
He  was  subsequently  settled  at  Whitesborough,  at  New  Hart- 
ford, and  at  Sackett's  Harbor,  in  the  State  of  New  York,  where 
his  labors  were  greatly  blessed.  He  died  in  1845,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-eight. 

Mr.  Snowden's  residence  was  on  the  farm  now  owned  by 
Mr.  Leavitt  Howe.  The  ruling  elders  associated  \vith  him  in 
the  session  were  Eichai-d  Longstreet,  a  farmer,  who  died  in  1797; 
James  Hamilton,  a  native  of  Scotland,  by  trade  a  chair  maker 
and  painter ;  Thomas  Blaokwell,  who  lived  at  Mapleton ; 
John  Johnson,  the  owner  of  a  large  tract  of  land  near  Stony 
Brook,  whose  homestead  is  now  occupied  by  the  family  of  his 
grandson,  the  late  Henry  D.  Johnson  ;  Isaac  Snowden,  the  father 
of  the  pastor,  who  removed  from  Philadelphia  to  Princeton,  dur- 
ing the  revolutionary  war ;  Daniel  Agnew,  who  emigrated  from 
Ireland  in  1764,  was  for  a  time  the  steward  of  the  college,  and 
was  the  father  of  James  Agnew,  a  prominent  physician  of  Pitts- 
burg, Pennsylvania,  and  the  grand-father  of  Chief  Justice  Daniel 
Agnew  of  Pennsylvania;  Dr.  Thomas  Wiggins,  a  graduate  of 


32  SERMON. 

Yale  Colleo;e.  a  practicing  physician  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
who  bequeathed  to  the  church  for  a  parsonage  his  brick  house 
on  the  east  side  of  Witherspoon  Street,  with  twenty  acres  of 
land ;  and  James  Finley,  a  Scotchman,  an  intimate  friend  of 
Dr.  Witherspoon' s,  and  the  father  of  Dr.  Robert  Finley,  pastor 
at  Baskingridge  and  the  founder  of  the  American  Colonization 
Society.  Only  Messrs.  Johnson,  Wiggins,  Finley  and  Hamilton 
are  mentioned  as  taking  part  in  sessional  proceedings  during 
the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Snowden. 

During  the  succeeding  three  years  the  Rev.  Samuel  Stan- 
hope Smith,  the  son-in-law  of  Dr.  Witherspoon.  and  his  succes- 
sor in  the  presidency  of  the  College,  filled  the  pulpit  of  the 
church.  Dr.  Smith  was  a  cultivated  scholar,  a  polished  gentle- 
man, and  a  preacher  of  remarkable  eloquence.  According  to 
Dr.  Sprague  he  "acquired  a  reputation  as  a  pulpit  orator  which 
rendered  it  an  object  for  many,  even  from  the  remote  parts  of 
the  country,  to  listen  to  his  preaching.  His  Baccalaureate  Dis- 
courses, particularly,  which  were  addressed  to  the  Senior  class 
on  the  Sabbath  immediately  preceding  their  graduation,  were 
always  of  the  highest  order,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  for  per- 
sons to  go  even  from  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  to  listen  to 
them."^  His  administration  of  the  aifairs  of  the  College  were 
successful  in  the  extreme.  Nassau  Hall,  which  was  destroyed 
by  fire  in  the  spring  of  1802,  was  rebuilt.  Liberal  gifts  of  money 
rewarded  his  solicitations.  New  buildings  were  erected.  Four 
professors  were  added  to  the  faculty,  one  of  whom,  a  young 
Scotch  physician,  John  Maclean,  the  father  of  the  late  venerated 
President  Maclean,  brought  to  this  country  the  New  Chemistry 


1.  Sprague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  339. 


SEBMON.  33 

taught  by  Lavoisier,  and  excited  a  wholesome  enthusiasm  in  the 
study  of  natural  science  both  within  and  without  the  College.^ 

Of  the  state  of  the  church  at  this  time  we  have  but  scanty 
information.  Between  the  years  1798  and  1805  no  additions  to 
the  membership  are  recorded  ;  and  if  any  meetings  of  the  session 
were  held  from  November,  1798,  to  May,  1804,  no  minutes  were 
kept.  It  is  to  be  much  deplored  that  the  session,  though  consti- 
tuted in  1786,  made  no  record  of  their  proceedings  until  1792, 
and  that  there  should  have  been  later  such  an  omission  as  that 
now  mentioned.  The  present  stringent  regulation  as  to  the 
annual  scrutiny  of  session  books  by  the  Presbytery  could  not 
have  been  in  force.  In  fact  our  books  contain  no  marks  of 
Presbyterial  oversight  earlier  than  1807. 

In  the  summer  of  1800  the  Rev.  Archibald  Alexander,  in 
the  course  of  a  journey  from  Virginia  to  New  England,  stopped 
in  Princeton.  "  In  those  days,"  he  wrote,  "  the  talk  in  Prince- 
ton was  about  Godwin's  Political  Justice,  a  book  which  has  lost 
its  interest,  and  about  a  young  man,  lately  a  tutor  in  the  Col- 
lege, whose  eloquence  was  awakening  attention."'  This  brilliant 
young  preacher  was  Henry  KoUoek.  President  Carnahan,  his 
intimate  friend,  said  of  him  that  "  the  first  discourse  which  he 
delivered  in  Princeton  surprised  his  friends,  and  far  surpassed 
the  expectations  of  those  who  had  formed  the  highest  estimate 
of  his  talents.  It  could  hardly  be  hoped  that  the  same  interest 
could  be  maintained  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  ;  yet  the  fact  was 
that  during  the  five  months  to  Avhich  I  now  i-efer,  the  interest 


1.  The  el  del- Professor  Silliman  of  Yale  Collefj;e  said: — "  I  regard  him  (L>r, 
Maclean)  as  my  earliest  master  in  Chemistry,  and  Princeton  as  as  my  start" 
ing  point  in  that  ))nrsuit." 

2.  Life  of  Archibiild  Alexander.  D.I).,  p.  il4. 


34  SERMON. 

was  increased  rather  than  diminished  .  .  .  and  strangers  not 
infrequently  spent  the  Sabbath  in  Princeton  in  order  to  hear  the 
illustrious  young  preacher."^  In  January,  1804,  Mr.  Kollock, 
then  pastor  of  the  church  in  Elizabethtown,  was  invited  to  the 
pastoral  care  of  this  church.  He  was  also  at  this  time  appointed 
to  the  professorship  of  Theology  in  the  College.  The  objects  of 
this  arrangement  were  to  secure  to  the  students  the  benefit  of 
his  preaching,  to  provide  instruction  for  young  men  seeking  the 
ministry,  and  to  aid  the  church  in  giving  him  an  adequate  stipend. 
Declining  offers  in  some  respects  more  attractive.  The  Second 
Mr.  Kollock  accepted  both  of  these  positions,  and  was  Pastor, 
installed  as  pastor  June  twelfth,  1804.  The  salary  promised  by 
the  congregation  was  five  hundred  dollars. 

Mr.  Kollock  remained  in  Princeton  less  than  three  years. 
In  1806  he  entered  upon  a  pastoral  charge  in  Savannah,  G-eorgia, 
which  he  held  until  his  death  in  1819.  His  popularity  as  a 
preacher  never  abated,  and  the  affection  cherished  for  him  by 
people  of  all  classes  and  creeds  was  extraordinary.  Crowds  sur- 
rounded his  house  during  his  last  sickness.  The  Mayor  of 
Savannah  issued  a  proclamation  requesting  the  suspension  of  all 
business  on  the  day  of  his  funeral,  and  the  vessels  in  the  harbor 
placed  their  flags  at  half-mast. 

Although  but  forty-one  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his 
decease,  Mr.  Kollock  had  become  one  of  the  foremost  preachers 
of  his  day.  Of  Huguenot  ancestry,  and  familiar  with  the  French 
language,  he  possessed  many  of  the  characteristic  qualities  of  the 
great  pulpit  orators  of  France.  His  published  sermons  were  in 
their  time  highly  prized.  "  More  than  once,"  remarks  Dr. 
Schenck,  "  have  I  met  with  plain  Christians  who  have  hoarded 


1.  Spi-ague's  Annals  of  the  American  Pulpit,  Vol.  IV,  p.  265. 


SERMON.  35 

up  a  copy  of  Kollock's  Sermons  as,  next  to  the  Bible,  their 
choicest  literary  treasure." 

Fifteen  persons  were  admitted  to  the  church  during  Mr. 
Kollock's  pastorate.  The  ruling  elders  in  service  were  Dr.  Wig- 
gins, James  Hamilton,  Daniel  Agnew. — who  have  been  already 
mentioned, — -John  Van  Cleve,  M.D.,  William  Thompson,  and 
Peter  Updike. 

Dr.  Van  Cleve,  a  noted  physician,  was  a  ruling  elder  from 
1805  to  1826.  He  was  a  trustee  of  the  College  from  1810  to 
1826,  and  at  one  time  temporarily  filled  the  chair  of  Chemistry. 
His  house  stood  on  the  site  now  occupied  by  University  Hall. 

William  Thompson  was  Professor  of  Languages  in  the  Col- 
lege. He  was  elected  to  the  eldership  in  1805  and  remained  in 
office  until  his  death  in  1813. 

Of  Peter  Updike  I  have  been  unable  to  learn  anything  save 
that  he  was  an  elder  from  1805  to  1818. 

On  the  fourteenth  of  November,  1804,  Dr.  Thomas  Wiggins, 
a  ruling  elder  since  1792,  deceased,  bequeathing  to  the  church, 
for  the  use  of  its  pastors,  his  dwelling  house  and  upwards  of 
twenty  acres  of  land.  Certain  legal  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
taking  possession  of  this  property,  which  unexpectedly  presented 
themselves,  were  removed  by  an  equitable  settlement  with  the 
heirs  of  the  testator.  The  house,  at  present  owned  by  the 
Princeton  G-as  Light  Company,  was  occupied  by  the  pastors  of 
the  church  until  1847,  when  it  was  sold.  A  portion  of  this  land 
was  added  to  the  old  Princeton  Cemetery,  and  the  remainder 
was  disposed  of  in  parcels,  reilizing  finally  about  thirty-five 
hundred  dollars  for  investment  in  a  new  parsonage.  The 
trustees  of  the  church  caused  a  stone,  suitably  inscribed,  to  be 
placed  over  Dr.  Wiggins'  grave. 


36  SERMON. 

The  minutes  of  the  session  under  date  of  October  fourth, 
1806,  contain  the  following  entry:  "William  Schenck,  son  of 
Joseph  Schenck,  applied  for  admittance  to  the  ordinance  of  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  after  giving  the  greatest  satisfaction  to 
session  he  was  admitted."  On  the  opposite  page  is  this  record  : 
"  October  6th  —  Wm.  Schenck  was  baptized."  On  that,  to  him, 
eventful  Sabbath,  this  young  man  wrote  in  his  diary  :  "  On  this 
day  I  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Henry  Kollock  and  admitted  to 
the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  .  .  Glrant,  Almighty 
Father,  that  I,  admitted  to  so  glorious  a  privilege,  may  study 
with  all  my  heart  and  all  my  soul  and  all  my  strength,  to  grow 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day.  May  it  be  my  greatest 
pleasure,  my  meat  and  my  drink,  to  know,  to  love,  and  to  serve 
thee."  ^  He  little  thought  that  he  was  destined  to  emjiloy  the 
powers  thus  consecrated  to  the  service  of  his  Redeemer,  in  a 
brief  but  useful  ministry  as  pastor  of  the  church  into  whose 
fellowship  he  was  that  day  received. 

William  C.  Schenck  was  bom  in  the  immediate  The  Third 
vicinity  of  Princeton  in  the  year  1788.  He  was  a  Pastor, 
descendant  of  Grarret  Schenck,  who,  in  company  with  John 
Covenhoven  of  Monmouth  County,  purchased  of  William  Penn 
in  1737  sixty-five  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of 
Stony  Brook,  a  portion  of  which  still  bears  the  name  of  Penn's 
Neck.  His  parents  were  noted  for  exemplary  piety.  Brought 
under  the  shadow  of  a  great  sorrow  by  the  death  of  his  mother 
while  he  was  a  student  in  the  college,  he  found  comfort  and 
peace  in  committing  himself  to  the  atoning  mercy  of  God  in 
Jeaus  Christ.  Upon  making  profession  of  his  faith  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  ministry,  and  pursued  theological  studies  under 


1.  See  Ur.  VV.  K.  Schenck's  Historical  Discourse,  p.  .51. 


SERMON.  37 

the  direction  of  Dr.  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith.  He  was  licensed 
to  preach  by  the  Presbytei'v  of  New  Brunswick  in  1808,  and  for 
a  time  occupied  the  pulpit  of  a  vacant  church  at  Cooperstown, 
New  York.  In  the  Spring  of  1809  he  returned  to  Princeton, 
and  for  some  months  ministered  to  this  church  with  such  accept- 
ance that  he  was  invited  to  become  its  pastor.  On  the  sixth  of 
June  1810,  when  but  twenty-two  years  of  age,  he  was  formally 
ordained  and  installed. 

The  church  numbered  at  this  time  more  than  a  hundred 
members,  The  elders  in  active  service  were  James  Hamilton, 
Peter  Updike,  John  Davidson,  Samuel  Bayard,  James  Moore, 
Zebulon  Morford,  Francis  D.  Janvier,  and  John  Van  Cleve,  M.  D. 
Thomas  Blaekwell,  Daniel  Agnew,  and  Professor  William  Thomp- 
son were  still  living,  but  they  no  longer  attended  the  meetings 
of  the  session. 

James  Moore,  an  elder  from  1807  to  1832,  and  a  trustee 
from  1786  to  1831,  was  a  tanner  and  currier.  He  was  a  captain 
of  militia  during  the  Revolution,  and  was  highly  respected  for 
bravery  and  patriotism.     Moore  Street  perpetuates  his  name. 

Zebulon  Morford  belonged  to  a  respectable  English  family. 
He  owned  at  one  time  the  Castle  Howard  farm,  the  oldest  farm 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Princeton.  Socially  he  was  less 
conspicuous  than  his  brother.  Major  Stephen  Morford.  His  term 
of  service  in  the  session  continued  from  1807  to  1841. 

Francis  DeHaes  Janvier,  a  son-in-law  of  Professor  Thomp- 
son, was  of  French  and  Dutch  lineage,  and,  though  content  to 
follow  the  modest  occupation  of  a  coach  painter,  was  a  truly 
remarkable  character.  Dr.  James  W.  Alexander  wrote  concern- 
ing him  that  "  he  was  a  devourer  of  books.  .  .  There  was 
nothing  in  the  wide  circle  of  English  literature  so  far  as  it  is 


38  SERMON. 

traversed  by  most  professed  scholars  with  which  he  was  not 
familiar.  He  had  made  himself  master  of  the  French  language, 
and  perused  its  chief  treasures.  He  was  fully  suited  to  mingle 
with  any  group  of  literary  or  scientific  men."^  Mr.  Janvier's 
home  was  in  Mercer  Street,  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  Miss 
Hageman.  Chosen  to  the  Eldership  in  1807,  he  held  the  office 
until  his  decease  in  1824. 

Samuel  Bayard  was  prominent  in  the  group  of  excellent 
men  who  then  adorned  the  society  of  Princeton.  Of  distin- 
guished Huguenot  ancestry,  highly  educated,  versed  in  public 
affairs,  and  a  consistent  and  earnest  Christian,  he  left  behind 
him  a  name  which  abides  in  honor.  To  every  demand  of  private 
and  social  duty  he  was  assiduously  faithful.  He  was  Mayor  of 
the  borough,  and  frequently  a  member  of  the  Council.  He  was 
an  active  trustee  a,s  well  as  treasurer  of  the  college,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Theological  Seminary  from 
1824  to  1840.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society.  From  1807  to  1838  he  was  a  trustee  of  the 
cluu-ch,  and  a  ruling  elder  from  1807  to  1840.  Bayard  Avenue 
was  named  in  his  honor.  He  lived  in  the  house  built  by  Dr. 
Bainbridge,  now  the  residence  of  Mr.  F.  S.  Conover. 

Mr.  Bayard  was  the  author  of  several  works  relating  to  the 
profession  of  the  law,  and  of  a  useful  religious  book,  entitled 
"  Letters  on  the  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper."  He  also  con- 
ducted an  extensive  correspondence  with  eminent  men  in  Great 
Britain.  Dr.  J.  W.  Alexander  in  one  of  his  "  Familiar  Letters," 
says  :  "  I  spent  an  hour  this  morning  with  good  old  Mr.  Bayard. 
He  showed  me  letters  from  William  Pitt,  Lord  Erskine,  Lord 


1.  Life  of  J.  Addison  Alexander,  D.D.,  pp.  70,  71. 


SEBMON.  39 

Lansdowne,  and  Sir  John  Sinclair.  .  .  Also  several  letters 
frora  Wilberforoe."^ 

A  session  made  up  of  such  men  as  I  have  described  might 
be  expected  to  maintain  a  watchful  care  over  the  interests  com- 
mitted to  their  charge.  Two  instances  are  worthy  of  mention. 
At  a  meeting  held  November  twenty-fourth,  1807,  the  Session 
resolved  "that  a  committee  of  public  instruction  be  at  this  time 
appointed  whose  business  it  should  be  to  attend  to  the  public 
religious  instrvaction  of  the  children.  Samuel  Bayard,  Zebulon 
Morford,  and  John  Van  Cleve  were  accordingly  appointed  to 
that  office."  The  minutes  of  a  later  meeting  (September  twenty- 
ninth,  1809)  state  that  "  Mr.  ,  a  young  gentleman,  who  came 

to  this  place  with  the  intention  of  studying  divinity,  applied  for 
admission  to  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  The  session 
examined  him  strictly  and  finally  I'ecommended  him  to  withdraw 
his  application  until  he  should  by  study  and  self-examination 
acquire  more  precise  and  correct  ideas  ou  the  leading  points  in 
divinity."  It  is  pleasing  to  be  able  to  add  that  this  young 
gentleman  renewed  his  application  several  months  afterwards 
and  was  admitted. 

The  trustees  of  the  church  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Schenck's 
entrance  on  pastoral  duty  were  James  Moore,  James  Hamilton, 
John  Harrison,  Colonel  Erkuries  Beatty,  Richard  Stockton, 
LL.D.,  Ebenezer  Stockton,  M.D.,  and  Samuel  Bayard. 

There  was  no  Board  of  Deacons,  but  in  1807  ruling  elders 
James  Moore,  Zebulon  Morford,  and  Francis  D.  Janvier  were 
appointed  a  committee  "  to  attend  to  the  ordinary  business  of 
deacons." 

1.  Vol.  1,  p.  273. 


40  SEBMON. 

In  February,  1813,  the  house  of  worship  erected  in  colonial 
times,  and  repaired  at  much  expense  after  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, was  entirely  destroyed  by  fire.  This  was  no  small 
calamity  for  a  congregation  which  had  much  difficulty  in  meet- 
ing its  ordinary  liabilities.  The  use  of  a  college  recitation  room 
for  public  services  was  kindly  offered.  This  did  not  furnish 
adequate  accommodation  for  both  studoits  and  townspeople, 
and,  in  consequence,  a  separate  service  on  the  Sabbath  was  insti- 
tuted by  the  college,  which  continued  after  the  rebuilding  of  the 
church,  and  exists  to  this  day. 

With  much  difficulty  funds  were  secured  for  the  new  build- 
ing. Some  gifts  came  from  friends  in  other  jdaees.  Drs.  Grreen, 
Alexander,  and  others,  were  requested  to  solicit  contributions 
outside  of  Princeton.  A  trustee  who  had  gone  to  Philadelphia 
for  medical  assistance  was  formally  asked  to  "  use  his  influence 
among  his  friends  and  other  persons  charitably  disposed,"  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  money.  Apian  was  formed,  which,  how- 
ever, was  not  carried  out,  of  publishing  a  volume  containing 
sermons  by  the  eminent  preachers  of  Princeton,  to  be  sold  for 
the  benefit  of  the  church.  Five  hundred  dollars  were  given  by 
the  corporation  of  the  college,  who  also  promised  to  give  a  "good 
and  sufficient  title"  to  the  land  on  which  the  chui'ch  stood. 
Certain  conditions  were  stipulated  which  were  essentially  the 
same  with  the  original  agreement  made  in  1762.  The  Honorable 
Elias  Boudinot  kindly  aided  in  furnishing  the  new  church  by 
the  gift  of  a  chandeli(,'r. 

The  building  was  finished  in  July,  1814.  It  was  a  brick 
structure,  placed  with  its  side  toward  the  street.  The  entrances 
were  at  the  west  end.  There  were  two  aisles  and  seventy- 
six   pews   on   the   ground   floor.      The   use  of   the  gallery   on 


SERMON.  41 

the  south  side  was  granted  to  the  college.  A  portion  of  the 
north  gallery  was  set  apart  for  colored  people.  The  cost  of 
rebuilding  was  about  ninety-five  hundred  dollars.  An  indebted- 
ness remained  of  fifty-four  hundred  dollars.  To  cover  this 
amount  the  pews  were  offered  for  sale  at  prices  ranging  from 
twenty-five  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  according  to  size 
and  location.  On  these  valuations  a  yearly  tax  of  twelve  per 
cent,  was  laid  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  pastor's  salary. 
This  method  was  adopted  by  the  advice  of  Dr.  Ashbel  Green, 
who  had  in  1812  succeeded  Dr.  Smith  in  the  presidency  of  the 
college,  in  lieu  of  an  annual  subscription  which  appears  to  have 
been  a  source  of  constant  trouble  to  the  trustees. 

Until  1821  the  church  was  lighted  in  the  eveaing  with 
candles.  Thirty  were  considered  a  liberal  allowance  for  two 
evenings.  The  sexton  was  forbidden  to  light  the  chandelier 
without  "  particular  orders  from  the  pastor." 

The  singing  at  this  time  was  led  by  a  precentor,  Mr. 
Cornelius  Terhune  of  Rocky  Hill. 

An  event  of  great  importance  occurring  during  the  pastor- 
ate of  Mr.  Sehenck  was  the  establishment  in  Princeton  of  the 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  act  of 
the  Greneral  Assembly  was  passed  in  1810  ;  the  Plan  of  the 
Seminary  was  ratified  in  1811 ;  and  the  institution  was  opened 
for  students  on  the  twelfth  of  August,  1812.  Its  first  Professor 
was  the  Rev.  Ai-chibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  then  in  the  full  pos- 
session of  his  matchless  powers  as  a  preacher  and  teacher.  The 
first  students  were  three  in  number.  Dr.  Alexander's  first 
residence  was  the  house  in  Mercer  Street  already  spoken  of  as  at 
one  time  the  home  of  Mr.  Janvier ;  and  there  the  little  group  of 
students  found  at  once  library,  chapel  and  lecture  room.     "  The 


42  SERMON. 

handful  of  young  men  gathered  around  their  preceptor  almost 
as  members  of  his  family,  going  freely  in  and  out,  sitting  at  his 
board,  joining  in  the  domestic  worship,  and,  in  a  sense,  not 
merely  learning  of  him,  but  living  with  him."^  The  establish- 
ment of  this  institution  has  been  of  inestimable  value  to  Prince- 
ton. The  residence  among  us  of  its  able  and  learned  faculty, 
their  interest  in  our  churches  and  their  occasional  preaching,  and 
the  engagement  of  its  students  in  many  lines  of  evangelistic 
effort  throughout  the  village  and  surrounding  country,  afford 
advantages  which  few  rural  towns  can  enjoy. 

The  period  of  Mr,  Schenck's  ministry  was  signalized  also  by 
a  memorable  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  which,  though  its  fruits 
were  visible  chiefly  in  the  college,  brought  a  rich  blessing  to  the 
town.  In  1814  about  thirty  persons  were  added  to  the  church. 
In  1815  the  preaching  of  Drs.  G-reen,  Alexander,  and  Miller, 
in  the  Chapel  of  the  college,  and  the  faithful  labors  of  six  or 
eight  students  who  agreed  to  visit  the  different  rooms  and  press 
upon  the  attention  of  their  fellows  the  claims  of  religion,  were 
followed  by  an  awakening  the  results  of  which  eternity  alone  can 
disclose.  Thet'e  were  one  hundred  and  five  students  in  the 
college  of  whom  not  more  than  twelve  were  professors  of  religion. 
Not  less  than  forty  were  converted  at  the  time,  and  others 
received  impressions  which  were  doubtless  in  many  cases  abid- 
ing. "  For  a  time,"  wrote  Dr.  G-reen,  "  it  seemed  as  if  the 
whole  of  our  charge  was  pressing  into  the  Kingdom  of  God ;  so 
that  at  length  the  inquiry  in  regard  to  them  was  not  who  was 
engaged  about  religion,  but  who  was  not.'"'^  Dr.  Grreen  also 
relates  that  the  example  of  two  students  who  made  a  public 


1.  Life  of  A.  Alexander,  D.D.,  p.  373. 

2.  Dr.  Sclienck's  Historical  Discourse,  p.  61. 


SERMON.  43 

profession  of  religion  wrought  powerfully  upon  the  minds  of 
their  companions.  It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  these 
youths  were  Charles  Hodge  and  his  friend  Kensey  Johns  Van 
Dyke.  Other  subjects  of  this  revival  were  the  Eev.  John  Johns, 
D.D.,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Virginia ; 
the  Eev.  James  V.  Henry  ;  the  Rev.  Symmes  C.  Henry  of  Cran- 
bury ;  the  Rev.  Ravaiid  K.  Rodgers  of  Bound  Brook ;  the  Rev. 
John  Goldsmith  of  Long  Island;  the  Rev.  William  J.  Arm- 
strong, D.D.,  distinguished  for  zealous  labors  as  a  Secretary  of 
the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions ;  the  Rev.  William 
James  of  Albany ;  the  Rev.  Charles  P.  Mcllvaine,  D.D.,  Protes- 
tant Episcopal  Bishop  of  Ohio,  great  in  intelle(;t,  and  greater 
still  in  the  Christian  love  which  refused  to  be  cramped  within 
the  limits  of  a  sect;  the  Rev.  John  Maclean,  D.D.,  the  beauty 
or  whose  character  and  life  we  all  have  known ;  the  Rev.  David 
Magie,  D.D.,  of  Elizabeth,  a  "model  pastor"  for  forty-five  years 
in  his  native  town ;  and  the  Rev.  Charles  C.  Beatty,  D.D.,  a  son 
of  Princeton,  who  not  only  toiled  unweariedly  in  the  ministry  of 
the  Gospel,  but  also  devoted  great  sums  of  money  to  the  educa- 
tional interests  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Upwards  of  twenty  of  the  townspeople  were  converted  dur- 
ing this  revival. 

In  October,  1818,  the  successful  labors  of  Mr.  Schenckwere 
interrupted  by  an  attack  of  typhus  fever  which  caused  his  death 
on  the  seventeenth  day  of  that  month  in  the  thirty-first  year  of 
his  age.  "  He  was,"  said  the  pastor  of  a  neighboring  church, 
"  growing  in  the  love  and  confidence  of  his  flock,  and  seemed 
destined  to  make  them  a  compact,  well  cemented  company,  pros- 
pering in  the  things  that  make  for  holiness  and  heaven."^     At 


1.  The  Rev.  Isaac  V.  Brown  of  Lawrenceville.    See  Dr.  Scheiick's  Dis- 
course, p.  55. 


44   .  SERMON. 

the  time  of  his  conversion  he  had  expressed  an  eager  desire  to 
be  holy  and  useful,  and  his  desire  had  been  granted.  The 
funeral  discourse  was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller.  The 
trustees  of  the  congregation  made  kindly  provision  for  the  com- 
fort of  the  widow  of  the  deceased  pastor,  granting  the  use  of  the 
parsonage  and  the  continuance  of  her  husband's  salary  until  the 
following  Spring.  The  Session  caused  a  marble  monument  to  be 
J  erected  over  his  grave. 

One  hundred  and  fifty-five  persons  were  admitted  to  mem- 
bership in  the  church  during  Mr.  Schenck's  ministry,  the 
majority  of  them  on  profession  of  their  faith.  A  considerable 
number  of  those  received  on  profession  subsequently  studied  for 
the  ministry,  viz.,  Lewis  Bayard,  Thomas  H.  Skinner,  Nicholas 
Gr.  Patterson,'  Benjamin  b"".  Stanton,  Robert  Steele,  Jeremiah 
Chamberlain,  Charles  Hodge,  William  James,  Charles  S.  Stewart, 
John  Johns,  Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  Samiiel  F.  Darrach,  Ezra 
Youngs,  Grilbert  Morgan,  William  D.  Snodgrass,  William  Moder- 
well,  Henry  A.  Boardman,  Aaron  D.  Lane,  John  Maclean,  John 
Breckinridge.  Charles  C.  Beatty,  Thomas  C.  Kennedy. 

An  interval  of  more  than  a  year  and  a  half  elapsed  before 
the  settlement  of  Mr.  Schenck's  successor.  Meanwhile  the 
elders  made  such  provision  as  they  could  for  the  pastoral  care 
of  the  congregation.  It  was  resolved  (October  twenty -fifth, 
1818)  "  that  Session  will  henceforward  take  charge  of  the  relig- 
ious instruction  of  the  youth  and  children  of  this  congregation 
so  long  as  the  same  shall  be  destitute  of  a  pastor."  Mr.  Janvier 
was  appointed  (December  fifth,  1818)  "  a  committee  to  wait  on 
such  students  as  he  might  think  proper,  and  to  request  them  in 
behalf  of  Session  to  attend  to  the  instruction  of  the  Bible  classes, 
and   to  the    celebration  of   divine   worship  in    those   religious 


SERMON.  45 

societies,  that  have  been  formed  in  the  vicinity  of  Princeton,  and 
are  connected  with  this  congregation ;  "  and  he  was  likewise  to 
hear  the  recitations  in  the  Catechism  of  the  children  of  the  con- 
gregation who  were  to  be  assembled  for  that  purpose.  On  the 
twenty-first  of  January,  1819,  they  voted  unanimously  in  favor 
of  calling  the  Rev.  Archibald  Alexander,  D.D.,  to  the  vacant 
pastorate,  and  requested  the  trustees  to  unite  with  them  in 
bringing  this  recommendation  before  the  congregation.  As  no 
further  notice  of  this  movement  is  on  record,  we  may  conclude 
that  it  was  quietly  suppressed  by  Dr.  Alexander.  On  the 
twelfth  of  October  in  the  same  year,  the  Session  passed  a  resolu- 
tion in  which  they  declared  it  expedient  to  invite  "  the  Rev.  Mr. 
William  Allen,  of  Hanover,  late  president  of  the  University  of 
Dartmouth  in  the  State  of  New  Hampshire,  to  become  their 
pastor."  A  call  was  accordingly  extended  to  Mr.  Allen  by  the 
congregation,  but  declined  by  him.  On  the  twenty-eighth  of 
February,  1820,  the  congregation  again  met  and  elected  as  their 
pastor  the  Rev.  George  SpafEord  WoodhuU,  of  Cranbury,  New 
Jersey.  It  was  at  the  same  time  resolved  "  that  six  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  in  cash  and  the  use  of  the  parsonage  and  glebe 
be  voted  as  the  salary  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woodhull  annually." 
He  was  installed  on  the  fifth  of  July,  1820. 

Mr.  Woodhull  was  at  this  time  forty-seven  years  The  Fourth 
of  age.  He  was  a  son  of  the  Rev.  John  Woodhull,  Pastor. 
D.D.,  of  Freehold,  and  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey 
in  the  class  of  1790.  In  1798  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  church 
at  Cranbury.  The  attention  of  the  Princeton  congregation  had 
l)een  drawn  to  him  after  the  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Kollock,  but 
the  Presbytery  had  advised  against  his  removal.  His  ministry 
of  twentv-two  vears  at    Cranburv   was  eminentlv  useful.     He 


46  SERMON. 

was  a  public  spirited  man,  in  full  sympathy  with  the  philan- 
thropic and  religious  movements  of  the  time.  From  1807  to 
1834  he  was  an  efl&cient  trustee  of  the  College.  In  1811  he  was 
one  of  a  number  of  gentlemen  who  met  in  Princeton  for  the 
organization  of  the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society.  Four  years  later 
he  originated  a  scheme  of  Bible  class  instruction  which  was 
approved  by  the  Presbytery  and  Synod  and  recommended  to  the 
churches  by  the  G-eneral  Assembly.^  He  was  also  a  pioneer  in 
the  temperance  reform,  having  caused  a  temperance  pledge  to 
be  circulated  among  the  members  of  his  congregation  as  early 
as  the  year  1815,  and  having  in  1818  secured  the  passage  by 
the  Presbytery  of  an  overture  to  the  General  Assembly  which 
drew  from  that  body  a  stringent  admonition  against  the  use  of 
ardent  spirits  by  church  officers  and  members.^ 

Without  possessing  remarkable  gifts  as  a  pulpit  orator,  Mr. 
Woodhull  was  useful,  consistent,  and  dignified  in  all  his  rela- 
tion to  the  church.  Two  hundred  and  ninety-four  persons  were 
admitted  to  membership  during  his  residence  here  of  twelve 
years,  more  than  four-fifths  of  whom  made  profession  of  their 
faith.  Among  these  were  Albert  B.  Dod,  James  W.  Alexander, 
Edward  D.  Smith,  Edward  Norris  Kirk,  and  Joseph  Addison 
Alexander.  At  this  time  also  there  was  an  outbreak  of  philan- 
thropic and  missionary  zeal  throughout  the  American  Church 
which  made  itself  felt  in  Princeton,  and  found  expression  in  the 
organization  of  societies  for  benevolent  work.  In  1815  a  Sab- 
bath School  Association  had  been  formed  by  a  number  of  students 
among  whom  were  Charles  P.  Mellvaine,  John  S.  Newbold  and 
Eliphalet  W.  Gilbert.     In  1816  the  Female  Benevolent  Society 


1.  Minutes  of  General  Assembly  1816,  pp.  627,  628. 

2.  Minutes  of  General  Assembly  1818,  p.  684. 


SERMON.  47 

of  Princeton  had  its  origin.  Its  object  was  to  aid  the  poor  not 
only  by  charitable  gifts,  but  also  by  educating  their  children.  It 
established  a  school  in  1825,  for  which,  in  1830,  a  building  was 
erected  in  Witherspoon  Street  on  laud  belonging  to  the  church. 
In  addition  to  the  ordinary  branches  of  knowledge,  the  Bible  and 
the  Westminster  Catechism  were  thoroughly  taught.  This 
school,  at  first  under  the  care  of  Miss  Harriet  Nicholson,  was,  from 
the  year  1840  until  its  recent  discontinuance,  conducted  by  Miss 
Mary  R.  Lockard  who  died  July  seventeen,  1885,  at  an  advanced 
age,  leaving  behind  her  the  savor  of  a  good  name  and  the  memory 
of  an  unpretending  but  most  useful  life.  Throughout  its  con- 
tinuance, nearly  sixty  years,  it  enjoyed  the  care  of  many  of  the 
first  ladies  of  Princeton,  and  was  a  source  of  no  little  benefit  to 
the  community.^  In  1822  was  organized  "The  Princeton  Female 
Society  for  the  Support  of  a  Female  School  in  India."  In  1824 
a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  church  in  the  intei'est  of  African 
Colonization.  Addi-esses  were  made  by  Captain  Robert  F. 
Stockton  of  the  Navy,  Dr.  Samuel  Miller,  and  others,  and  the 
New  Jersey  Colonization  Society  was  formed.  Its  annual  meet- 
ings were  held  in  Princeton  for  several  years,  and  commanded 
the  services  of  many  of  the  prominent  men  of  the  state.  The 
Princeton  Tract  Society  which  still  prosecutes  its  admirable 
work  of  monthly  house  to  house  visitation  and  tract  distribution 
throughout  the  town,  was  founded  in  1825  ;  and  the  Princeton 
Bible  Society  in  1826. 

About  this  time  the  educational  and  religious  destitutions 
of  certain  portions  of  the  State  began  to  awaken  deep  anxiety, 
and  a  public  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Princeton  was  held 


1.  The  lineal  descendant  of  the   Benevolent  Society  is  the  Ladies'  Aid 
Society  ;    an  efficient  and  nseliil  organization. 


48  SERMON. 

oa  the  thirteenth  of  Deceraber,  1827,  when  it  was  resolved  to 
endeavor,  with  the  co-operation  of  other  friends  of  morals  and 
religion,  to  raise  within  two  years  the  sum  of  forty  thousand 
dollars  "  for  the  support  of  missionaries  and  the  establishment 
of  schools  in  the  destitute  parts  of  the  State  ";  and  to  place  the 
funds  so  raised  "  under  the  control  of  the  Domestic  Missionary 
Society  of  N^w  Jersey."  The  entire  sum  desired  was  not  raised, 
but  Princeton  contributed  a  larger  proportion  than  any  other 
locality,  and  upon  Princeton  men  and  women  devolved  much  of 
the  labor  and  responsibility  connected  with  the  enterprise.  Of 
all  the  agents  employed  the  most  efficient  was  the  Rev.  Eobert 
Baird,  in  later  years  the  distinguished  Secretary  of  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union.  He  had  been  gi'aduated  from  the 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1822,  and  for  five  3^ears 
thereafter  was  the  principal  of  an  academy  in  the  village.  His 
chosen  plan  of  life,  on  the  execution  of  which  he  was  now  about 
to  enter,  was  "the  extension  of  Protestantism  and  the  evangeli- 
zation of  the  world,  in  connection  with  the  great  religious  and 
benevolent  societies."  By  indefatigable  labor  in"  holding  meet- 
ings in  every  county  of  the  State,  and  by  a  series  of  essays  on 
the  subject,  he  succeeded  in  arousing  a  public  sentiment  in  favor 
of  common  schools,  which  at  once  led  to  the  passage  of  a  legisla- 
tive act  appropriating  twenty  thousand  dollars  annually  for  this 
purpose.  Dr.  John  Maclean  has  left  on  record  his  opinion  that  "  to 
no  one  uian  was  the  State  of  New  Jersey  so  m  uch  indebted  as  to  Dr. 
Baird  for  the  establishment  of  its  system  of  common  schools."^  At 
the  fifteenth  annual  meeting  of  the  Nassau  Hall  Bible  Society,  held 
July  thirty-first,  1827,  it  was  determined  to  seek  the  cooperation 
of  other  societies  in  supplying  with   the  Bible  every  destitute 


1.  See  Hagenian's  History  of  Princeton,  Vol.  1.,  p.  259. 


SERMON.  49 

family  in  New  Jersey,  within  one  year.  This  project  was  fully 
carried  into  effect,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baird  taking  a  leading  part.  Seven 
thousand  families  were  found  entirely  destitute  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures.  An  appalling  amount  of  illiteracy,  also,  was  brought 
to  light,  and  a  strong  impulse  given  to  all  movements  in  the 
behalf  of  intellectual  and  moral  enlightenment. 

With  all  these  movements  our  church  was  closely  connected, 
and  its  interest  and  sympathy  were  practically  shown  by  personal 
effort  and  liberal  gifts  of  money  on  the  part  of  its  members. 

Nor  was  the  church  wanting  in  attention  to  the  more  ordin- 
ary methods  of  Christian  beneficence.  The  minutes  of  the  Ses- 
sion indicate  that  contributions  were  made  in  behalf  of  the  poor, 
and  "  toward  the  Bible,  Missionary,  Education,  Sabbath  School, 
and  Benevolent  Societies."  Recently  a  considerable  sum  had 
been  given  in  aid  of  the  Theological  Seminary.  One  hundred 
dollars  were  paid  annually  "  towards  the  support  of  a  student 
in  the  Seminary  ;  "  and  there  was  also  "  a  public  collection  in 
the  church  for  the  use  of  the  Seminary  once  every  year." 

In  order  to  complete  our  survey  of  Mr.  WoodhuH's  ministry 
we  should  notice  the  supply,  in  part  at  least,  of  the  want  long 
sorely  felt  of  a  room  in  which  to  hold  the  social  services  of  the 
church.  More  than  once  had  the  session  and  trustees  united  in 
urging  upon  the  congregation  the  importance  of  erecting  a 
"  Sessional  Hall"  or  chapel.  But  nothing  was  done  until  1830 
when  an  arrangement  was  made  with  the  Female  Benevolent 
Society  by  which  on  a  lot  on  Witherspoon  Street  belonging  to 
the  "  ministerial  property  "  left  by  Dr.  Wiggins,  a  building  (still 
standing)  was  erected  at  the  joint  expense  of  the  Society  and  the 
Session,  the  lower  story  of  which  was  the  school  room  of  the 
Society  and  the  upper  story  the  lecture  room  of  the  church.     On 


50  SEBMON. 

the  twenty-third  of  June  1830,  the  Session  formally  invited  the 
Sabbath  School  to  meet  in  this  place. 

Ruling  Elders  Thomas  Blackwell,  John  Van  Cleve,  M.D., 
Captain  James  Moore,  and  Francis  D.  Janvier  died  during  Mr. 
Woodhull's  term  of  service ;  and  John  S.  Wilson,  Ralph  Lane, 
Professor  Robert  B.  Patton,  John  C.  Schenck,  John  Lowrey, 
and  Jacob  Lane  were  elected  to  the  eldership. 

Mr.  Wilson  was  a  merchant  doing  business  at  the  corner  of 
Nassau  and  Washington  Streets.  He  was  held  in  high  esteem 
and  frequently  called  to  public  office.  He  was  an  elder  in  the 
church  fifteen  years  and  a  trustee  five  years.  One  of  his  daugh- 
ters was  married  to  the  Rev.  E.  D.  Gr.  Prime,  the  present  senior 
editor  of  the  New  York  Ohserver. 

John  C.  Schenck  was  a  merchant  at  Queenston.  Deeply 
interested  in  the  religious  work  done  in  that  neighborhood  by 
students  from  the  Theological  Seminary,  he  conveyed  in  1832  a 
lot  of  land  to  five  trustees,  all  of  whom  were  members  of  this 
church,  "  to  erect  thereon  a  suitable  building  for  the  purpose  of 
religious  worship,  and  for  the  use  of  the  Queenston  Society  and 
Sabbath  School."  Through  th'e  liberality  of  the  church  means 
were  at  once  provided  for  the  erection  of  a  chapel.  This  prop- 
erty is  now  held  by  our  Board  of  Trustees. 

Colonel  John  Lowrey  seems  to  have  been  a  popular  charac- 
ter, possessing  the  confidence  of  the  entire  community,  and 
almost  constantly  holding  official  place.  He  lived  where  Mercer 
Hall  now  stands.  He  was  a  trustee  for  one  year  and  an  elder 
from  1826  to  1845.  His  son,  the  Rev.  John  Lowrey,  is  at  this 
time  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Hackettstown, 
New  Jersey. 


SERMON.  51 

Jacob  Lane  was  known  to  many  of  us.  He  was  a  member 
of  the  session,  with  the  exception  of  a  brief  interval  of  residence 
elsewhere,  for  fifty-two  years,  dying  in  1878,  at  the  age  of  ninety- 
one. 

Of  Robert  B.  Pattou  much  might  be  said  did  time  permit. 
He  was  elected  to  the  professorship  of  Languages  in  the  College 
in  1825,  and  resigned  in  1829  to  become  the  founder  and  princi- 
pal of  the  Edgehill  High  School,  which  admitted  only  boys 
under  twelve  years  of  age,  and  anticipated  in  thoroughness  of 
instruction  the  methods  of  the  best  modern  preparatory  schools. 
Joseph  Addison  Alexander,  then  a  youth  of  nineteen,  was 
employed  by  him  as  an  assistant  teacher,  and  was  thus  brought 
under  an  influence  which  gave  direction  to  his  remarkable  career. 
"  No  man,"  says  the  biographer  of  Dr.  J.  A..  Alexander,  "  with 
one  exception,  had  more  influence  than  Mr.  Patton  in  moulding 
his  intellectual  character."  ^  In  a  letter  to  his  brother  James, 
dated  May  5th,  1859,  Dr.  J.  A.  Alexander  writes :  "  I  need  not 
remind  you  of  my  early  and  almost  unnatural  proclivity  to  Orien- 
tal studies  ....  it  was  my  cherished  wish  for  several 
years  to  settle  in  the  East  .  .  .  and  so  far  from  having  any 
missionary  zeal,  I  was  really  afraid  the  Moslems  would  be  Chris- 
tianized before  I  could  get  at  them.  .  .  .  My  Oriental  studies 
were  continued  after  my  College  course.  .  .  .  It  is  never- 
theless true  that  I  had  already  begun  to  be  weaned  from  Ana- 
tolic to  Hellenic  studies.  The  exciting  cause  of  this  change  was 
the  influence  of  Patton — first  as  a  teacher,  chiefly  by  his  making 
ine  acquainted  with  the  G-erman  form  of  classical  philology  ; 
then  by  means  of  his  Society   [the  Philological]  and  library ; 


1.    Life  of  J.  A.  Alexander,  D.D.,  p.  213. 


52  '  SERMON. 

and  lastly  by  association  with  liim  at  Edgehill."'  This  was  a 
noble  tribute  to  Professor  Patton's  intellectual  power  and  to  the 
indelible  impress  which  it  left  upon  one  who  was  destined  to 
become  eminent  among  the  scholars  and  teachers  of  the  American 
Church.  Mr.  Patton  removed  from  Princeton  in  1835,  having 
served  the  church  as  a  ruling  elder  for  nine  years. 

Crowned.as  was  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Woodhull  with  abund- 
ant tokens  of  divine  favor,  it  was  not  allowed  to  pursue  a  wholly 
untroubled  course.  Difficulties  arose,  which  at  length  made 
themselves  so  seriously  felt  that  he  deemed  it  wise  to  seek  the 
severance  of  the  tie  which  had  long  bound  him  to  the  church. 
Two  causes  may  be  assigned.  In  the  first  place,  some  in  the 
congregation,  forgetting  that  the  church  had  always  flourished 
far  more  under  the  care  of  ministers  of  even  moderate  abilities, 
wholly  devoted  to  its  iiiterests,  than  under  brilliant  preaching 
unaccompanied  by  pastoral  oversight,  were  desirous  of  effecting 
an  arrangement  by  which  the  professors  of  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary should  frequently  and  regularly  occupy  the  pulpit.  This 
had  been  manifested  in  the  wish  to  call  Dr.  Archibald  Alexan- 
der, burdened  as  he  was  with  the  duties  of  his  theological  chair, 
to  the  pastorate,  and  in  the  decline  of  revenue  from  pews  which 
had  followed  the  discontinuance  in  1825  of  the  "  Sabbath  even- 
ing lectures,"  which  had  for  some  time  been  given  in  the  church 
by  the  professors  of  the  Seminary.  This  state  of  things  was  not 
surprising.  A  village  church  standing  between  a  college  on  the 
one  hand  and  a  school  of  theology  on  the  other  holds  an  anomalous 
position.  It  is  a  curious  blending  of  the  city  with  the  country 
church.  Without  the  wealth  and  the  push  oi  the  city  church, 
it  naturally  acquires  tastes  and  ambitions  much  beyond  those  of 


1.  Life  of  J.  A.  Alexander,  D.D.,  pp.  217-219. 


SERMON.  53 

the  ordinary  country  congregation.  Unable  to  obtain  the  ser- 
vices of  a  pulpit  celebrity,  it  yet  believes  itself  to  be  capable  of 
enjoying  the  productions  of  the  great  masters  of  homiletical 
art.  Hence  arises  a  chronic  difl&culty  more  fully  met,  perhaps, 
in  our  own  day  than  in  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  by  a 
certain  "  freedom  of  worship  "  too  familiar  to  need  description. 
A  second  and  more  potent  cause  of  uneasiness  may  prob- 
ably be  found  in  the  spirit  of  the  age,  which  was  waking  tenden- 
cies some  of  which  yielded  wholesome  fruit,  while  others  were 
pregnant  with  mischief.  Philanthropic  agitations  which,  guided 
by  a  zeal  not  according  to  knowledge,  sometimes  arrayed  them- 
selves against  the  Bible  and  the  Church  ;  efforts  for  religious 
revival,  which  in  many  localities  were  hasty  and  fanatical,  and 
brought  into  play  methods  not  accordant  with  the  highest 
Christian  wisdom  ;  heated  disputes  as  to  the  respective  merits 
of  voluntary  societies  and  ecclesiastical  boards  ;  doctrinal  con- 
troversies which  separated  Congregationalism  and  Presbyterian- 
ism  into  Old  School  and  New  School,  and  at  length  rent  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  twain  ;  all  these  were  in  the  air,  and 
could  not  but  be  felt  even  in  Princeton.  So  staid  a  body  as  the 
Session  of  this  church,  thinking  perhaps  that  they  must  keep 
abreast  of  the  age,  adopted,  evidently  without  the  consent  of 
the  pastor,  a  measure  that  drew  upon  them  the  rebuke  of  the 
Presbytery  as  violating  Presbyterian  order.  A  significant  move- 
ment was  the  petition  of  twenty-three  persons  in  1832  for  the 
organization  of  a  Second  Presbyterian  Church.  The  minutes 
of  Session,  under  date  of  August  fourth,  1832,  give  at  length 
the  reply  of  that  body  to  the  petition.  It  was  written  by  Mr. 
Bayard  and  was  a  temperate  and  dignified  paper  breathing 
throughout  the  spirit  of  Christian  kindness.     It  is  too  long  to 


64  SERMON. 

be  given  here  in  full.  The  petitioners  were  reminded  that  similar 
"undertakings  in  small  towns  had  been  followed  by  "  disastrous 
and  unhappy  consequences ;  "  that  the  officers  of  the  Church 
could  scarcely  be  expected  to  initiate  a  division  ;  and  that  in 
any  case  the  Presbytery,  and  not  the  Session,  was  the  body  from 
which  counsel  should  be  sought.  The  Session  could  hardly  have 
done  otherwii^e  in  the  light  which  they  had ;  but  to  one  who 
looks  at  the  matter  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  present,  it 
seems  not  unlikely  that  the  establishment  at  that  time,  rather 
than  later,  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  might  have  been 
the  wiser  course. 

On  the  eleventh  of  August,  1882,  Mr.  Woodhull,  hoping  to 
prevent  by  his  withdrawal  from  the  pastorate  the  division  of  the 
church,  announced  his  intention  of  taking  the  necessary  steps  to 
that  end.  He  received  a  call  from  the  church  at  Middletown 
Point,  New  Jersey,  and  spent  in  that  place  the  last  two  years  of 
his  life,  dying  there  on  the  tweuty-fifth  of  December,  1834,  in 
the  sixty-second  year  of  his  age.  It  is  pleasing  to  recall,  as 
showing  the  esteem  in  which  he  was  held  by  his  Princeton  con- 
gregation, that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Miller  at  their  request  preached  a 
memorial  sermon.  "One  fact,"  said  Dr.  Miller  in  this  discourse, 
"is  unquestionably  certain,  that  during  the  twelve  years  of  his 
pastoral  service,  this  church  received  a  greater  number  of  mem- 
bers to  her  communion  than  in  any  preceding  period  of  twelve 
years  since  the  commencement  of  her  existence.  .  .  It  has 
been  my  lot  within  the  last  foi'ty  years  of  my  life  to  be 
acquainted  with  many  hundred  ministers  of  the  Gospel  of 
various  denominations,  and  with  not  a  few  of  them  to  be  on 
what  might  be  called  intimate  terms ;  and  although  I  have 
known   a  number  of  more  profound  attainments  and  of  more 


SERMON.  55 

impressive  eloquence  than  your  late  pastor,  yet  in  the  great  moral 
qualities  which  go  to  form  the  good  man,  the  exemplary  Chris- 
tian, the  diligent  and  untiring  pastor,  the  benevolent  neighbor 
and  citizen,  and  the  dignified,  polished,  and  perfect  gentleman, 
I  have  seldom  known  his  equal,  and  I  think  never,  on  the  whole, 
his  superior.  .  .  .  He  never  made  ambitious  claims  ;  never 
put  himself  forward ;  seldom  asserted  what  was  his  due  ;  and 
in  a  word,  in  meekness,  in  modesty,  in  retiring,  unassuming 
gentleness,  and  in  a  prudence  which  seemed  never  to  sleep,  he 
set  before  his  professional  brethren  and  his  fellow  Christians  a 
noble  example."^ 

We  now  approach  a  period  within  the  recollection  of  the 
older  members  of  the  congregation.  On  the  fourteenth  of 
January,  1833,  the  Rev.  John  McDowell,  D.D.,  was  elected  to 
the  vacant  j^astorate.  Dr.  McDowell  declined  the  call,  and  on 
the  twentieth  of  the  following  May,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin 
Holt  Rice  was  chosen. 

Dr.  Rice  was  about  fifty  years  of  age.  He  had  The  Fifth 
married  the  sister  of  Dr.  Archibald  Alexander.  His  Pastor, 
first  pastoral  charge  was  in  Petersburg,  Virginia.  For  a  short 
time  previous  to  his  coming  to  Princeton,  he  was  the  pastor  of 
the  Pearl  Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
Infei'ioi  in  learning  and  ability  to  his  more  distinguished  brother, 
John  Holt  Rice,  he  was,  in  the  language  of  a  kinsman,  "in  his 
best  days  and  in  his  happiest  moments,  one  of  the  most  effective 
of  extemporaneous  preachers.  .  .  .  He  was  greatly  beloved 
and  exceedingly  useful  as  a  pastor ;  and  his  piety  was  made  up 
of  the  qualities  of  a  manly  vigor  and  a  delighful,  almost 
womanly,  delicacy  and  tenderness."^ 


1.  Hageman's  History  of  Princeton,  Vol.  II.,  p.  132. 

2.  Life  of  J.  A.  Alexander,  D.D.,  p.  776. 


56  SERMON. 

Dr.  Rice  was  installed  ou  the  fifteenth  of  August,  1833. 

Princeton  was  now  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Large  classes 
were  va  attendance  at  the  Theological  Seminary;  and  the  College, 
under  the  administration  of  Dr.  Carnahan,  had  placed  in  its 
chairs  of  instruction  some  professors  of  distinguished  ability, 
and  was  growing  in  popularity  and  influence.  Many  families 
of  intelligence  and  respectability  had  sought  a  residence  here, 
and  there  seemed  to  be  progress  in  all  directions.  In  these  cir- 
cumstances it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Presbyterian 
Church  should  longer  be  allowed  to  remain  as  hitherto,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Friends'  Meeting,  the  only  religious  society  in 
the  town.  Other  denominations  now  began  to  establish  them- 
selves in  the  village.  In  1833,  a  few  months  prior  to  the  instal- 
lation of  Dr.  Rice,  a  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  was  organ- 
ized. This  was  done  with  entire  good  feeling  on  the  part  of  the 
Presbyterians,  who,  as  Dr.  Macdonald  states,  offered  to  Bishop 
Doane  the  use  of  their  house  of  worship  for  the  meeting  at 
which  the  organization  was  effected.^  Dr.  Samuel  Miller,  who 
had  strenuously  controverted  in  his  writings  the  claims  of  prelacy 
was  a  donor  to  the  building  fund.  In  a  letter  given  at  length 
in  the  Life  of  Dr.  Miller,^  Judge  Field  says  :  "  When  it  was  for 
the  first  time  proposed  to  build  an  Episcopal  church  at  Prince- 
ton, instead  of  discouraging  or  throwing  obstacles  in  the  way 
of  it,  he  contributed  toward  the  fund  for  its  erection  ;  and  I 
remember  the  great  gratification  which  this  act  of  liberality 
upon  his  part  gave  to  those  who  were  engaged  in  the  enter- 
prise." 


1.  "A  Century  in  the  History  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Prince- 
ton," p.  23. 

2.  Vol.  2.,  p.  383. 


SERMON.  57 

The  Methodists  were  next  on  the  ground,  organizing?  a 
"  class  "  in  1842,  and  erecting  a  church  edifice  in  1847. 

The  colored  people  oi'ganized  a  Methodist  church  in  1836,   l^ 
and  a  Presbyterian  church  in  1846. 

The  Second  Presbyterian    Church   was   organized  on  the  ^y 
twenty-third  of  December,  1847,  shortly  after  the  resignation 
of  Dr.  Kice,  and  before  the  election  of  his  successor. 

On  the  sixth  of  Jul}^  1835,  the  calamity  of  1813  was 
repeated,  and  the  congregation  again  saw  its  place  of  worship 
destroyed  by  fire.  The  fire  was  caused  by  the  explosion  of  a 
sky-rocket  on  the  roof.  The  use  of  the  chapel  of  the  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  for  the  public  services  of  the  church  was  offered 
and  accepted.^  Arrangements  were  promptly  made  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  new  edifice.  A  question  having  arisen  as  to  the  valid- 
ity of  the  title-deed  held  by  the  congregation,  owing  to  some 
informality,  another  deed  was  executed  bearing  the  signature  of 
the  president  of  the  College  and  sealed  with  the  College  seal. 
The  new  church  was  ready  for  occupancy  in  November,  1836, 
and  was  completely  furnished  in  the  summer  of  1837.  The 
jilau  of  the  gallery  and  pulpit  was  drawn  by  Professor  Albert 
B.  Dod.  The  cost  of  the  building  was  sixteen  thousand  dollars. 
It  has  since  been  lengthened  and  its  interior  has  been  improved, 
but  the  general  appearance  of  its  exterior  is  the  same  now  as 
then.  In  1848  a  lecture  room  was  built  at  the  south  end,  at  a 
cost  of  about  sixteen  hundred  dollars,  three  hundred  dollars  of 
which  were  given  by  the  Rev.  E.  N.  Kii-k,  D.D.,  of  Boston,  for- 
merlv  a  member  of  the  church. 


1.  It  should  be  mentioned  here  that  the  Vestry  of  the  Episcopiil  church 
kindly  offered  the  use  of  their  house  of  worship  when  not  needed  for  their 
own  services. 


58  SERMON. 

Dr.  Rice's  administration  of  affairs  evinced  a  watchful  care 
over  all  the  interests  of  the  church.  The  observance  of  the 
Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  which  until  1820  had  taken 
place  alternately  at  Princeton  and  at  Kingston,  and  which  upon 
the  conclusion  of  that  arrangement  had  been  celebrated  here  at 
intervals  of  three  mouths,  was  now  directed  to  be  observed  six 
times  in  the -fear.  Church  members  guilty  of  immoral  conduct 
were  faithfully  dealt  with  by  the  Session.  An  elders'  prayer 
meeting  was  held  every  Sabbath  morning.  Action  was  taken  in 
favor  of  temiDprance,  as  follows  :  "  Resolved,  That  the  Session 
of  this  Churcii  do  most  earnestly  recommend  to  all  the  mem- 
bers of  this  Congregation  to  abstain  from  the  use  of  ardent 
spirits,  except  as  a  medicine,  and  that  they  discourage  the  use  of 
it  as  a  drink  even  in  a  moderate  degree  in  their  several  families, 
and  in  all  cases  to  vise  their  utmost  influence  to  check  this  most 
destructive  evil."^  Special  attention  was  paid  to  the  people  of 
color  belonging  to  the  congregation.  A  Board  of  Deacons  was 
constituted  in  1845,  of  which  William  R.  Murphy  and  Daniel 
B.  Wagner  were  the  first  members. 

During  Dr.  Rice's  pastorate  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
persons  were  admitted  to  membership  from  other  churches,  and 
two  hundred  and  seventy-one  upon  profession  of  their  faith. 
Among  the  latter  number  were  James  C.  Moffat,  now  a  pro- 
fessor in  the  Theological  Seminary  ;  Levi  Janvier,  a  devoted  mis- 
sionary in  India ;  William  E.  Schenck,  afterwards  the  pastor  of 
the  church;  George  M.  Maclean,  M.D.,  for  many  years  an  efii- 
cient  ruling  elder  ;  John  M.  Rogers,  chaplain  of  the  New  Jersey 
state-prison  at  Trenton  ;  Theodore  Ledyard  Cuyler,  the  distin- 
guished  Brooklyn   pastor ;    Archibald   Alexander   Hodge,   the 


1.  Minutes  of  Session,  December  16th,  1835. 


SERMON.  59 

brilliant  preacher  and  theologian,  the  shadow  of  whose  recent 
death  still  rests  upon  us  ;  Oliver  R.  Willis,  a  successful  teacher ; 
John  A.  Annin,  long  an  active  missionary  in  the  far  west ;  Samuel 
Davies  Alexander,  now  a  pastor  in  the  city  of  New  York  ;  and 
Joseph  Henry,  a  professor  in  the  College  and  subsequently  the 
Secretary  of  the  Smithsonian  Institute,  a  man  not  less  illustrious 
for  his  pi6ty  than  for  his  scientiHc  attainments. 

During  this  period  ruling  elders  Zebulon  Morford,  Samuel 
Bayard,  John  S.  Wilson,  John  Lowrey,  Robert  Voorhees,  and 
John  C.  Schenck  were  removed  by  death.  Professor  Patton, 
John  V.  Talmage,  and  John  Davison  withdrew  from  the  session 
on  account  of  a  change  of  residence.  The  elders  elected  were 
Daniel  Bowne  in  1835,  Professor  Stephen  Alexander  and  John 
V.  Talmage  in  1840,  Isaac  Baker  and  Joseph  H.  Davis  in  1845. 
The  trustees  were  John  Van  Doren,  John  Lowrey,  Alfred  A. 
Woodhull,  M.D.,  William  R.  Murphy,  George  M.  Maclean,  M.D., 
James  Van  Deventer,  Professor  Albert  B.  Dod,  E.  C.  Wines, 
Samuel  A.  Lawrence,  David  N.  Bogart,  Alexander  M.  Gumming, 
R.  R.  Ross,  John  Bogart,  George  T.  Olmsted,  A.  J.  Dumont, 
John  Davison,  Philip  Hendrickson,  Peter  I.  Voorhees,  Captain 
Thomas  Crabbe,  U.  S.  N.,  Prof essor  Joseph  Henry,  J.  S.  Schanck, 
M.D.,  Joseph  H.  Davis,  William  Gulick,  John  T.  Robinson,  N. 
S.  Berrien,  Peter  V.  DeOraw,  John  F.  Hageman,  A.  Van  Duyn. 
All  are  dead  save  Messrs.  Van  Deventer  and  Hageman,  who  have 
ceased  to  be  members  of  the  board,  and  Dr.  Schanck,  the  present 
president  of  the  board,  who  has  served  this  congregation  as  a 
trustee  more  than  forty  years. ^ 


I.  Before  this  discourse  was  printed  Dr.  Schanck's  long  and  faithful 
service  in  this  capacity  was  terminated  by  his  i-esignation  tendered  to  the 
congregation  at  its  annual  meeting,  February  eleventh,  1888.  The  liev. 
William  Henry  Green,  D.D.,  was  chosen  a  trustee  in  his  room.  James  H. 
Wikofl',  M.D.,  is  now  the  president  of  the  board. 


60  SERMON. 

Dr.  Eiice  resigned  the  pastorate  on  the  twenty-sixth  of  April, 
1847,  by  reason  of  old  age  and  increasing  infirmity.  "I  cannot," 
he  said,  "do  the  work  of  this  place  with  satisfaction  to  myself, 
or  with  profit  to  you.  The  burden  has  become  so  heavy  that  I 
feel  it  to  be  due  to  you  and  to  myself  to  seek  relief  from  it." 

The  resignation  was  accepted  with  regret.  It  was  ordered 
that  Dr.  Eice's  salary  should  be  paid  to  the  first  of  July,  and 
the  use  of  the  parsonage  was  granted  to  him  until  it  should  be 
needed  by  his  successor.  The  Presbytery  ratified  the  action  of 
the  congregation,  and  the  pulpit  was  formally  declared  vacant 
on  the  second  of  May. 

Certain  financial  diificulties  which  had  occasioned  much 
perplexity  and  uneasiness  previous  to  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Rice, 
were  now  again  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  congregation. 
The  parsonage  needed  expensive  repairs,  and  there  were  pro- 
tracted and  fruitless  discussions  as  to  the  question  whether  its 
owners  or  its  occupants  should  he  held  responsible  for  them. 
Without  entering  into  the  merits  of  the  question,  it  will  suffice 
to  say  that  the  trouble  was  ended  by  ordering  the  sale  of  all  the 
property  left  to  the  church  by  Dr.  Wiggins,  with  the  exception 
of  the  old  session  house  lot,  and  of  three  acres  reserved  for  the 
cemetery.  The  sum  thus  realized  was  placed  at  interest  for  the 
benefit  of  the  pastor,  according  to  the  intent  of  the  bequest. 

Finding  it  impossible  to  come  to  a  speedy  agreement  as  to 
the  choice  of  a  pastor  the  congregation  on  the  eighteenth  of 
September,  1847,  requested  the  session  "to  invite  W.Henry 
Grreen,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
Mr.  Abraham  Gosman,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Albany, 
to  officiate  as  stated  supplies  for  the  space  of  six  months."    This 


SERMON.  61 

arrangement  was  carried  into  effect,  and,  as  may  be  supposed, 
gave  general  satisfaction. 

At  a  meeting  held  January  thirty-first,  1848,  the  The  Sixth 
Kev.  William  Edward  Schenck,  pastor  of  the  Ham-  Pastor, 
mond  Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  New  York,  was 
chosen  to  fill  the  vacant  place.  On  the  seventh  of  May  he  was 
installed  by  a  committee  of  the  Presbytery,  consisting  of  the  Rev, 
Symmes  C.  Henry,  of  Cranbury,  and  the  Rev.  Drs.  Camahan 
and  Miller,  of  Princeton. 

Dr.  Schenck  is  the  only  survivor  of  the  former  pastors  of 
the  church.  His  faithful  and  efficient  service  for  more  than 
thirty -two  years  as  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Publica- 
tion has  won  for  him  an  honorable  name.  His  relinquishment 
of  this  position  on  account  of  failing  health  was  announced  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  1886.  He  is  now  enjoying  a  well- 
earned  season  of  rest,  in  the  healing  climate  of  Southern  Cali- 
fornia.' 

Boru  and  educated  in  Princeton,  the  new  pastor  found  him- 
self in  the  midst  of  famiUar  scenes.  He  was  in  the  vigor  of 
young  manhood  and  not  without  experience  of  the  labors  and 
cares  of  ministerial  life.  The  old  First  Church  was  now 
one  of  a  group  of  churches,  each  of  which  was  gathering  adher- 
ents and  seeking  its  share  of  favor  and  support  from  the  little 
community.  The  Protestant  Episcopal,  the  Methodist,  the 
Second  Presbyterian,  and  the  colored  Methodist  and  Presbyte- 
rian Churches  were  fairly  established.  To  these  were  added  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  in  1850  and  the  Baptist  Church  in 
1852.     It  is  literally  true  that  Protestantism  seldom  does  any- 


1.  Since  this  was  written  Dr.  Scheuck  has  returned  to  his  home  in  Phil- 
adelphia. 


62  SEBMON. 

thing  by  halves.  It  is  wont  to  indulge  in  minuter  fractions,  and 
by  providing  a  steeple  for  each  class  of  religious  opinions  and 
sometimes  for  the  subdivisions  thereof,  to  put  itself  in  peril  of 
dissipating  energy  vrhich  if  concentrated  would  yield  grander 
results. 

In  some  respects  the  situation  was  propitious.  The  long 
struggle  with  perplexing  questions  touching  the  parsonage 
jjroperty  had  come  to  an  end.  A  debt  which  in  1845  had 
amounted  to  $2500,  had  been  reduced  to  the  manageable  sum  of 
$300.  Encouraged  by  these  and  other  favoring  circumstances 
the  pastor  girded  himself  for  his  work.  Each  elder  was  assigned 
to  duty  in  a  specified  district.  A  Parochial  School  was  estab- 
lished by  the  session,  and  for  a  time  received  aid  from  the  School 
Fund  of  the  State,  and  from  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Educa- 
tion. The  school  of  Miss  Lockard  also  was  taken  under  the 
care  of  the  session,  and  aided  in  the  same  way.  These  appro- 
priations of  public  money  were  subsequently  withdrawn  as 
illegal.  The  Parochial  School  was  supplanted  by  the  Public 
School,  and  the  school  of  Miss  Lockard  was  maintained  as  at 
first  by  the  Female  Benevolent  Society.  As  has  been  mentioned 
a  lecture  room  was  built  in  1848,  and  to  it  were  transferred  the 
weekly  lectures  and  prayer  meetings  and  the  exercises  of  the 
Sabbath  School.  At  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  held  Decem- 
ber fifteenth,  1851,  it  was  announced  that  an  iron  fence  had 
been  erected  in  front  of  the  church  and  that  improvements  had 
been  made  in  the  building  and  grounds  at  a  total  expense  of  $787, 
which  had  been  fully  provided  for.  It  was  stated  also  that  by 
the  kindness  of  Mr.  Paul  Tulane  a  small  balance  of  indebted- 
ness had  been  paid,  and  that  the  church  was  for  the  first  time 


SERMON.  63 

in  eighty-nine  years  free  from  debt.'  Arrangements  were  soon 
after  made  for  introducing  illuminating  gas  into  the  church  and 
lecture  room  ;  and  thus  the  dim  light  of  the  oil  lamps  which  had 
followed  the  more  primitive  era  when  the  sexton  was  rigidly 
forbidden  to  use  more  than  thirty  candles  in  two  evenings,  but 
which  in  its  turn  had  been  made  by  the  professors  of  the  Semin- 
ary the  ground  of  declining  to  conduct  Sabbath  evening  services, 
gave  place  to  a  satisfactory  substitute. 

Better  than  all,  the  church  was  blessed  with  a  gracious 
visitation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  seventh  of  February,  1850, 
was  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  in  view  of  the 
spiritual  needs  of  the  congi-egation.  The  religious  awakening 
that  followed  was  extensive  and  profound.  The  pastor  in  a 
statement  published  at  the  time  said  :  "  As  the  fruits  of  this 
blessed  season  of  revival  it  is  hoped  that  in  the  neighborhood  of 
one  hundred  persons  have  been  made  subjects  of  converting  and 
sanctifying  grace  in  the  congregation  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church.  Of  these  seventy-four  have  been  recently  welcomed  to 
the  communion  table,  while  between  twenty  and  thirty  more  are 
expected  to  apply  for  the  privilege  of  coming  to  it  at  the  next 
opportunity.  In  the  College  it  is  hoped  that  between  thirty  and 
forty  of  the  students  have  experienced  conversion." 

I  was  a  student  in  the  College  at  the  time  and  I  well  remem- 
ber this  work  of  grace  in  its  connection  with  that  institution. 
On  the  evening  of  November  twentieth,  1849,  while  the  inaug- 
uration of  the  E-ev.  James  W.  Alexander,  D.D.,  as  Professor  of 
Church  History  in  the  Theological  Seminary  was  taking  place,  a 


J.  At  the  time  of  the  delivery  of  the  present  discoui'se  the  Church  was 
in  debt  to  the  amount  bf  $72 J.  An  appeal  to  the  Congregation  was  gener- 
ously responded  to  and  the  whole  auin  was  soon  raised,  Mr.  Tulane  contrib- 
uting $125. 


64  SERMON. 

"  barring  out "  of  North  College  was  effected,  accompanied  with 
other  disturbances.  The  measures  adopted  by  the  faculty  for 
restoring  order  created  intense  excitement,  and  for  a  time  the 
prevalent  tendencies  to  insubordination  and  evil-doing  were  a 
source  of  no  little  anxiety.  At  length  the  solicitude  of  the 
religious  students  was  aroused ;  fervent  prayers  were  offered  ; 
and  in  the  following  February,  beginning  with  the  Day  of  Prayer 
for  Colleges,  which  was  then  observed  in  that  month,  the  Holy  Spirit 
manifested  His  power  in  the  conviction  and  conversion  of  many 
souls.  Christians  went  from  room  to  room  urging  upon  their  fellow 
students  the  instant  obligation  of  repentance  and  faith.  The 
public  services  were  followed  by  "  entry  meetings  "  for  prayer 
and  conference.  Scarcely  a  young  man  could  be  found  in  the 
institution  who  did  not  invite  or  expect  religious  conversation. 
"  The  best  scholars,"  wi-ote  Dr.  James  W.  Alexander,  under  date 
of  March  ninth,  1850,  "  and  the  very  ring-leaders  in  vice,  have 
been  prostrated  Two  of  the  managers  of  the  commencement 
ball  (for  next  June)  have  proposed  to  do  away  the  ball ;  a 
nuisance  which  the  trustees  have  feared  to  abate,  and  which  for 
twenty  years  has  drawn  in  even  several  of  our  less  spiritual  pro- 
fessing Christians  or  their  children.  The  whole  College  may  be 
said  to  be  temporarily  seeking  God." 

In  March,  1852,  Mr.  Schenck,  to  the  surprise  and  grief  of 
his  people,  informed  them  of  his  determination  to  remove  from 
Princeton,  and  accept  the  position  of  Superintendent  of  Church 
Extension  in  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 
"This  contemplated  change,"  he  said,  "arises  from  no  coolness 
of  affection.  Our  gracious  Grod  knows  with  what  pain  I  have 
thought  upon  a  separation.  So  far  as  I  know  my  own  heart,  I 
believe  my  conclusions  have  grown  out  of  a  desire  to  do  what 


SERMON.  65 

will  most  effectually  promote  the  cause  and  kingdom  of  Jesus 
Christ  by  the  salvation  of  men.  And  whatever  may  be  the 
direction  of  God  in  this  matter,  my  right  hand  will  forsake  her 
cunning  and  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth,  before 
I  can  cease  to  love  and  pray  for  the  prosperity  of  this  church  in 
which  I  was  born  and  baptized  and  educated  in  the  Christian 
faith,  and  with  which  for  now  just  four  years  the  Lord  has  given 
me  so  delightful  a  connection  as  its  pastor." 

The  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  on  the  thirtieth  of 
March,  1852.  During  the  term  of  Mr.  Schenck's  ministry  one 
hundred  and  eleven  members  were  added  to  the  church  on  pro- 
fession of  their  faith,  and  eighty-eight  by  certificate.  The  whole 
number  of  communicants  at  the  time  of  his  resignation  was  three 
hundred  and  fifty-three. 

The  ruling  elders  elected  during  Mr.  Schenck's  pastorate 
were  John  F.  Hageman,  Ralph  Grulick,  and  Peter  V.  De  Graw. 
The  trustees  elected  were  George  T.  Olmsted  who  had  served  in 
this  capacity  some  years  before,  and  Isaac  Baker.  David  D. 
Cawley,  Isaac  Stryker,  Peter  I.  Voorhees,  John  H.  Clarke,  Michael 
Hendrickson,  and  Isaac  Van  Dyke  were  ordained  to  the  diaconate 
in  1851. 

One  of  the  admirable  services  rendered  by  Mr.  Schenck  to 
this  congregation  was  the  preparation,  with  great  labor  and 
research,  of  a  discourse  entitled  "An  Historical  Account  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Princeton,  N.  J."  It  was  preached 
on  Thanksgiving  Day,  December  twelfth,  1850,  and  was  printed 
at  the  request  of  the  congregation.  It  is  to  be  deeply  regretted 
that  he  has  never  found  it  possible  to  fiilfil  his  original  intention 
of  revising  and  extending  his  interesting  narrative.  As  it  is, 
however,  it  possesses  a  permanent  value,  and  must  always  be  the 


66  SEBMON. 

authoritative  history  of  our  church  for  the  period  to  which  it 
relates.  "  When  I  prepared  my  discourse,"  he  remarked  in  a 
letter  recently  received,  "  the  path  was  an  entirely  untrodden 
one,  no  effort  having  ever  before  been  made,  so  far  as  I  have 
learned,  to  trace  the  history  of  the  church  of  which  I  was  then 
pastor.  Imperfect  as  the  results  may  have  been,  my  search  for 
the  facts  was  long  and  arduoxis,  extending  not  only  to  records 
published  and  unpublished,  but  to  the  private  letters  and  the 
memories  of  the  oldest  citizens  of  Princeton  and  its  vicinity 
then  living."  ^ 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  July,  1852,  the  Eev.  "William  B. 
Weed,  pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church  in  Stratford,  Con- 
necticut, an  eccentric  but  brilliant  and  popular  preacher,  was 
called  to  the  pastorate  of  this  church.  Mr.  Weed  held  the  call 
under  consideration  several  months  but  finally  declined  it.  The 
choice  of  the  congregation  next  fell  upon  the  Rev.  The  seventh 
James  Madison  Macdonald,  pastor  of  the  Fifteenth  Pastor. 
Street  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
election  took  place  on  the  twenty-fifth  of  April,  1853.  After 
much  hesitation  he  announced  a  favorable   decision,  and  was 


1.  The  letter  from  which  this  paragraph  was  taken  was  written  from 
South  Pasadena,  California,  in  reply  to  a  communication  informing  Dr. 
Schenck  of  our  Intention  to  observe  the  centenary  of  the  completed  organ- 
ization of  our  church.  Dr.  Schenck  further  says,  "The  history  of  that 
noble  and  venerable  church  should  never  be  permitted  to  be  forgotten.  I 
rejoice  in  every  effort  put  forth  to  keep  it  alive  in  the  memoi'ies  and  hearts 
not   only  of  the  people  of  Princeton,  but  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 

large But  there  is  one  thing  you  will  find  it  impossible  to  trace 

or  even  to  fully  estimate  ;  the  immense  influence  the  Fir-t  Church  has  had 
on  the  whole  land  through  those  who  have  gone  out  from  Princeton  and  her 
institutions.  Within  the  last  thirty-flve  years  1  have  travelled  widely  over 
the  United  States,  and  have  also  had  a  most  extensive  correspondence  with 
every  part  of  our  country,  and  from  everj'  quarter  I  have  received  testi- 
monies, both  oral  and  written,  going  to  show  the  wideness  and  the  perma- 
nence of  that  blessed  influence." 


SERMON.  67 

installed  on  the  first  of  November.  The  services  of  that  occasion 
were  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Drs.  Hodge,  of  Princeton;  Davidson, 
of  New  Brunswick;  Watson,  of  Kingston,  and  Henry,  of  Cran- 
bury. 

Dr.  Macdonald  was  born  in  the  year  1812  in  Limerick, 
Maine,  and  came  of  Scotch  ancestry.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Union 
College,  Schenectady,  New  Yoi  k,  and  of  the  Theological  School 
of  Yale  College  After  a  ministry  of  five  and  a  half  years  in 
New  England,  he  became  the  pastor  of  the  ancient  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Jamaica,  Long  Island,  of  which  he  wrote  the  history. 
Nine  years  later  he  removed  to  New  York,  whence,  after  a  stay 
of  three  years,  he  came  to  Princeton. 

Of  Dr.  Macdonald' s  life  and  work  in  this  place  it  is  not 
necessary  that  I  should  attempt  to  give  a  detailed  account, 
partly  because  many  of  you  knew  hira  well,  and  partly  because 
you  doubtless  have  in  your  possession  his  autobiographical  sketch, 
published  in  1873,  of  "  A  Twenty  Yeai's'  Ministry  in  Princeton," 
as  well  as  the  Memorial  Discourse,  preached  after  his  decease 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Atwater. 

Although  I  was  a  student  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at 
the  opening  of  Dr.  Macdonald's  ministry  here,  I  had  not  the 
honor  of  making  his  acquaintance,  and  my  engagements  on  the 
Sabbath  were  such  as  to  deprive  me  of  the  privilege  of  listen- 
ing to  his  preaching  save  upon  rare  occasions.  I  have  had 
frequent  opportunities,  however,  during  the  last  nine  years,  of 
learning  that  he  won  the  gratitude  and  love  of  many  hearts,  and 
that  his  memory  is  cherished  with  tender  affection. 

His  ministry  was  the  longest  in  the  history  of  the  Church, 
extending  from  November  first,  1853,  to  March  nineteenth,  1876. 
It  was  eminently  useful  and  fruitful.     "  There  have  been  added 


68  SEBMON. 

to  this  church,"  he  observes  in  his  Reminiscences,  "during  the 
twenty  years  of  my  ministry,  six  hundred  and  sixty-one  per- 
sons, two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  on  profession  of  their 
faith,  and  three  hundred  and  seventy-three  by  certificate." 
About  one  hundred  more  were  received  before  the  close  of  his 
life.  "  Of  those  received  in  profession  of  their  faith,"  he  adds, 
■"  fifteen  have  been  licensed  to  preach  the  Grospel."  Among 
i;hose  were  E.  S.  Fairchild,  Samuel  B.  Dod,  Francis  B.  Hodge, 
.John  Lowrey,  Stirling  Gait,  Hugh  Smythe,  David  J.  Atwater, 
.John  Carrington.  Mr.  Carrington,  now  a  pastor  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, was  for  some  time  a  missionary  in  Siam. 

There  were  seven  ruling  elders  at  the  commencement  of  Dr. 
Macdonald's  pastorate.  Of  these,  Messrs.  Stephen  Alexander, 
John  F.  Hageman,  and  Jacob  Lane  survived  him.  Mr.  Ralph 
Lane  died  in  1854  at  the  age  of  ninety-two;  Mr.  Ralph  Gulick 
also  in  1854 ;  Mr.  Isaac  Baker  in  1870.  Mr.  Daniel  Bowne 
removed  to  Trenton.  Mr.  David  Comfort,  who  became  an  elder 
in  1860,  removed  to  Virginia  in  1865.  Mr.  Joseph  B.  Wright 
was  elected  in  1863,  but  afterwards  resigned  his  office  on  account 
of  a  change  of  residence.  Dr.  Greorge  M.  Maclean  was  elected 
in  1867,  and  Messrs.  John  B.  VanDoren,  John  V.  Terhune,  and 
Henry  E.  Hale  in  1869. 

The  trustees  appointed  during  Dr.  Macdonald's  pastorate 
Tvere  Dr.  J.  H.  Wikoff,  and  Messrs.  Emley  Olden,  John  B.  Van- 
Doren, Leavitt  Howe  and  Edwai'd  Howe. 

With  respect  to  the  deacons  Dr.  Macdonald  says  in  his 
Reminiscences :  "  The  late  Mr.  John  H.  Clark  of  Hamilton 
Square,  and  Mr.  Isaac  Striker,  now  of  Newark,  were  the  dea- 
cons in  the  earlier  years  of  my  ministry  here.  The  present  board 
(1873)  consists  of  Mr.  George  T.  Olmsted,  elected  December 


SERMON.  69 

twelfth.  1863,  and  Messrs.  Philip  Hendrickson,  David  A.  Hud- 
nut,  and  A.  Bo^art  Stryker,  elected  November  eighteenth,  1869." 

The  Sabbath  School  of  the  church  deserves  a  more  detailed 
account  than  can  be  given  in  this  discourse.  Its  history,  could 
all  the  facts  be  recovered,  would  present  many  features  of  no 
little  interest.  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  when  a  student  in  College, 
was  one  of  its  teachers.  Professor  Albert  B.  Dod  was  at  one 
time  its  superintendent.  At  the  opening  of  Dr.  Macdonald's 
ministry,  it  was  under  the  charge  of  Mr.  J.  Aspinwall  Hodge, 
now  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Hartford,  Con- 
necticut. Of  those  who  subsequently  presided  over  it  four  became 
distinguished  as  foreign  missionaries,  viz.  Messrs.  Charles  H. 
Lloyd,  Theodore  Wynkoop,  Jasper  Mcllvaine,  and  Gerald  Dale.' 
It  should  not  be  forgotten,  moreover,  that  many  of  the  families 
of  our  congregation,  living  outside  of  the  village,  are  con- 
nected with  Sabbath  Schools  which  were  long  since  established 
in  the  vicinity  of  their  homes,  and  which  owe  much  of  their 
great  usefulness  to  the  earnest  labors  of  young  men  belonging  to 
our  literary  institutions. 

The  shock  of  the  Civil  War  which  from  1861  to  1865  con- 
vulsed the  nation,  bringing  about  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and 
issuing  finally  in  the  firmer  establishment  of  the  Union  for  the 
creation  of  which  Witherspoon  and  the  other  patriots  of  Prince- 
ton were  willing  to  sacrifice  property  and  life,  was  not  unfelt  in 
Princeton,  although  the  horrors  of  battle  were  not  known  here 
as  in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  Several  of  the  young  men  of 
the   congregation   entered   the  ranks   of  the   defenders  of  the 


1.  Since  Dr.  Macdonald's  decease  the  superintendents  have  heen,  suc- 
cessively, Messrs.  Edward  Howe,  Harris  R.  Scheuck,  Melancthon  W.  Jacobus, 
William  M.  Paden,  Richard  D.  Harlan  ,  John  G.  Hibben,  Heniy  E.  Cobb  and 
Hugh  L.  Hodge. 


70  SERMON. 

Nation.  John  Warner  and  Henry  Stryker  died  in  consequence 
of  the  exposures  of  active  service.  Captain  Charles  Hodge  Dod, 
who  died  at  City  Point,  Virginia,  in  1864,  is  described  by  one 
who  knew  him  from  childhood  as  "highly  gifted  with  mental 
accomplishments  and  physical  attractions,  amiable  in  disposition, 
pure  in  morals,  an  example  to  his  associates."  It  was  his  pur- 
pose to  devote  himself  to  the  work  of  the  ministry.  Surgeon 
George  M.  McG-ill,  the  oldest  son  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  McGill,  sur- 
vived hard  and  noble  service  in  the  War  to  fall  a  victim,  in  cir- 
cumstances of  peculiar  sorrow,  to  Asiatic  cholera,  on  the  plains 
of  Colorado.  The  Army  and  Navy  Register  said  of  him :  "A 
hard  student,  an  accomplished  and  skillful  physician,  a  gallant 
officer,  and  a  brave  and  warm-hearted  gentleman — his  loss  to 
his  corps  and  the  army  is  irreparable ;  and  none  who  have 
served  with  him  will  fail  to  remember  him  with  pride,  or  to 
mourn  him  with  sincerity."  The  patriotic  women  of  Princeton 
contributed  liberally  to  the  comfoi't  of  the  Union  soldiers  by 
gifts  of  clothing  and  other  useful  articles  to  the  Sanitary  and 
Christian  Commissions  and  to  the  the  army  hospitals.  Miss 
Margaret  Breckinridge,  a  member  of  this  church,  gave  her 
personal  service  and  at  length  her  life.  She  was  a  lady  of 
the  highest  cultivation  and  I'efinement,  and  her  soul  glowed 
with  fervent  loyalty  to  the  Union  which  some  of  her  kindred 
were  striving  to  destroy.  Inspired  at  once  with  an  ardent 
patriotism,  and  with  a  Christian  philanthropy  that  caused  her 
to  be  likened  to  Florence  Nightingale,  she  carried  the  loveliness 
of  her  gracious  womanhood  into  camp  and  hospital,  and  so 
uuweariedly  ministered  to  sick  and  wounded  and  dying  soldiers 
as  to  win  their  reverent  gratitude.     Incessant  labors  wasted  her 


SERMON.  71 

strength  and  an  attack  of  "the  fatal  typhoid  peculiar  to  camps" 
terminated  her  life  in  July,  1864. 

Three  years  after  the  close  of  the  war  a  new  era  of 
enlargement  arid  prosperity  dawned  upon  the  College.  The 
prayers  and  self-denying  labors  of  its  founders,  its  long  and 
patient  struggle  with  poverty,  and  the  arduous  and  often  unap- 
preciated toil  of  the  noble  men  who  had  from  time  to  time  com- 
posed its  faculty,  were  at  last  i)roved  to  have  been  the  seeds  of 
a  rich  harvest.  The  number  of  students  which  had  been  dimin- 
ished in  consequence  of  the  war  began  to  increase.  Wealthy 
friends  saw  that  the  time  was  now  ripe  for  reyjlenishing  its 
treasury.  And  in  1868,  one  hundred  years  after  the  coming  of 
Witherspoon,  Scotland  gave  to  its  presidential  chair  another  of 
her  sons,  a  distinguished  scholar  and  author,  of  the  results  of 
whose  administration  I  surely  need  not  speak  in  this  presence.^ 

In  1869  the  re-union  of  the  New  School  and  Old  School 
divisions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  happily  effected  after  a 
separation  of  thirty-two  years. 

These  important  events,  occurring  as  they  did  during  the 
term  of  Dr.  Macdonald's  ministry,  and  necessarily  affecting  the 
society  and  the  institutions  of  the  place,  form  an  essential  part 
of  the  history  of  the  time,  and  exhibit  the  conditions  and  sur- 
roundings amidst  which  his  labors  were  performed. 

In  1861,  a  dwelling  in  Steadman  Street  (Library  Place) 
was  purchased  of  Mr.  Jacob  Lane  for  a  parsonage.  'The  house 
was  doubled  in  size  and  otherwise  improved  at  a  total  cost, 
including  the  purchase  money,  of  nearly  six  thousand  dollars. 


1.  Since  this  was  written  Dr.  McCosli  has  resigned  the  presidency,  and 
will  retire  from  office  at  the  close  of  the  present  College  year  in  June,  1888. 
Early  in  the  present  month  (February,  1888)  the  Trustees  of  the  College 
unanimously  elected  the  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  L.  Patton  as  his  successor. 


72  SERMON. 

The  avails  of  the  Wiggins  bequest  together  with  a  gift  of  one 
thousand  dollars  from  Mr.  Paul  Tulane  made  possible  this  desir- 
able addition  to  the  church  property.  And  thus  the  generosity  of 
the  worthy  old  elder  has  become  a  perennial  source  of  blessing 
to  the  church  and  its  successive  pastors.  In  1864  an  organ  was 
placed  in  the  church.  This  had  been  strenuously  opposed  in 
former  years  and  was  accomplished  now  only  after  much  discus- 
sion. In  the  Spring  of  1875,  the  question  of  decorating  the 
interior  of  the  church  edifice  was  agitated,  but  was  soon  merged 
in  the  larger  project  of  increasing  its  size.  Cogent  reasons  for 
enlargement  were  urged,  and  the  costly  undertaking  was  begun. 
The  main  building  was  extended  in  the  rear  over  the  space  occu- 
pied by  the  lecture  room,  which  was  removed.  The  interior  was 
refurnished  and  decorated,  and  the  windows  were  filled  with 
stained  glass.  A  new  chapel  was  erected  adjoining  the  church 
on  its  west  side.  The  total  expense  of  these  improvements 
slightly  exceeded  twelve  thousand  dollars,  four  thousand  dollars 
of  which  it  was  found  necessary  to  borrow.  This  debt,  however, 
was  entirely  liquidated  a  few  months  later  by  the  munificence  of 
one  who  has  already  been  mentioned  as  a  steadfast  friend  of  our 
church,  Mr.  Paul  Tulane.^ 

While  the  work  of  enlargement  was  proceeding,  this  con- 
gregation united  with  that  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
by  their  kind  invitation,  in  the  public  services  of  the  Lord's 


1.  Mr.  Tulane  died  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  March,  1887,  at  the  age  of 
eighty-five.  A  native  of  Princeton,  he  went  in  early  life  to  New  Orleans 
where  he  amassed  a  fortune  in  trade.  His  later  years  were  spent  in  Prince- 
ton. Although  he  never  made  a  profession  of  religion  his  gifts  to  benevo- 
lent and  religious  objects  were  frequent  and  liberal.  He  established  the 
Tulane  University  in  New  Orleans,  and  gave  to  it  an  endowment  of  one  and 
ahalf  million  of  dollars.  For  a  fuller  account  of  his  life  and  his  gifts  to  the 
church,  see  Hageman's  History  of  Princeton,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  203,  204,  and  V^ol.II,, 
pp.  181,  182. 


SERMON.  73 

Day,  the  two  pastors,  Drs.  McCorkle  and  Macdonald,  preaching 
alternately.  This  union  brought  a  blessing  to  both  churches. 
In  the  winter  of  that  year  (1876)  they  were  graciously  revived 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  quickened  the  faith  and  love  of  Chris- 
tians, and  guided  to  the  Redeemer  many  who  had  hitherto  been 
the  captives  of  sin.  The  effect  upon  Dr.  Macdonald  was 
remarked  by  his  friends.  His  heart  and  life  seemed  to  be  touched 
with  heavenly  fire.  His  glowing  words  spoken  at  the  united 
communion  service  of  the  two  churches  left  an  impression  not 
soon  effaced. 

He  was  ripening  for  heaven.  A  sudden  stroke  of  disease 
prostrated  him,  and  on  the  nineteenth  of  April,  while  the  good 
fruits  of  his  ministry  were  multiplying,  and  the  hearts  of  his 
people  were  drawn  to  lum  as  never  before,  and  other  years  of 
blessing  appeared  to  be  opening  before  him,  he  ascended  from 
the  scenes  of  earthly  labor  to  the  eternal  rest  and  joy  of  heaven. 
At  his  funeral,  addresses  were  delivered  by  Drs.  Charles  Hodge 
and  Joseph  T.  Dui-yea.  On  the  fourteenth  of  the  following 
month,  by  request  of  the  Session,  the  Eev.  Dr.  Atwater  preached 
a  memorial  sermon  which  was  subsequently  published.  The 
congregation  caused  a  stately  monument  to  be  erected  over  his 
grave.  He  was  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age  when  he  died, 
and  in  the  twenty-third  year  of  his  ministry  in  this  place. 

Dr.  Macdonald  may  be  said  to  have  been  fortunate  in  the 
time  and  circumstances  of  his  residence  here.  The  condition  of 
the  church  had  never  been  so  prosperous  and  so  full  of  promise 
as  on  the  day  of  Dr.  Schenck's  retirement,  and,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  period  of  Ihe  war,  his  pastorate  covered  an  era  of 
greater  prosperity  and  advancement  than   Princeton  had  ever 


74  SERMON. 

before  known ;  greater  also  in  many  respects  than  it  has  since 
known. 

The  present  pastor,  Dr.  Macdonald's  successor,  The  Eigbtii 
was  elected  July  seventeenth,  1877,  and  installed  on  Pastor, 
the  evening  of  November  second.  ,By  appointment  of  the  Pres- 
bytery the  Rev.  George  Sheldon,  D.D.,  presided,  the  Rev.  A.  A. 
Hodge,  D.D.^  preached  the  sermon,  the  Rev.  Lyman  H.  Atwater, 
D.D.,  gave  the  charge  to  the  pastor,  and  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Grosman,  D.D.,  the  charge  to  the  people.  Of  these  excellent  and 
honored  men  Dr.  Gosman  is  now  the  sole  survivor. 

My  task  as  a  histoi'ian  draws  to  a  close.  It  remains  only 
to  note  the  changes  which  have  taken  place  among  the  official 
members  of  the  congregation  during  the  past  nine  years,  and  to 
remind  you  of  the  losses  which  we  have  suffered  in  the  death  of 
some  who  have  gone  from  us  to  join  those  who  jDreceded  them 
in  the  service  of  God  here  in  the  higher  ministries  of  heaven. 

Messrs.  J.  F.  Hagemau,  Jr.,  and  William  Libbey,  Jr.,  have 
been  added  to  the  Board  of  Trustees,  of  which  the  other  members 
are  Dr.  J.  S.  Schanck,  Dr.  J.  H.  Wikoff,  J.  B.  VanDoren,  Leavitt 
Howe,  and  Edward  Howe.^ 

The  present  Board  of  Deacons  consists  of  David  A.  Hudnut, 
A.  Bogart  Stryker,  Charles  G.  Rockwood,  Jr.,  Edward  Howe, 
Richard  Rowland,  Ernest  Sandoz,  and  William  C.  Stout.  Mr. 
Olmsted  died  before  my  coming  to  Princeton ;  Mr.  Philip  Hen- 
drickson  in  March.  1885  ;  Messrs.  Rockwood  and  Conover  were 
ordained  and  installed  Aj)ril  twenty-fifth,  1880.  Mr.  Conover 
was  afterwards  transferred  to  the  eldership.     Messrs.  Howe, 


1.  Ill  a  previous  note  we  have  mentioned  the  recent  retirement  of  Dr. 
Schanck,  and  the  election  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green  as  his  successor. 


SERMON.  75 

Kowland,  Sandoz  and  Stout  were  ordained  and  installed  May 
thirtieth,  1886. 

Of  the  ruling  elders,  three  have  died,  Jacob  W.  Lane,  May 
eighth,  1878  ;  Professor  Stephen  Alexander,  June  twenty-fifth, 
1883  ;  and  George  M.  Maclean,  M.D.,  March  eighth,  1886.  Mr. 
Lane  held  this  office  nearly  fifty-two  years,  Professor  Alexander 
forty-three  years,  and  Dr.  Maclean  nineteen  years.  Messrs. 
John  C.  Conover,  Alexander  Johnston  and  Frederick  N.  Willson, 
having  been  duly  elected,  were  ordained  and  installed  May 
thirtieth,  1886.  Our  present  bench  of  elders  consists  of  seven 
members  :  Messrs.  J.  F.  Hageman,  Sr.,  John  V.  Terhune,  John 
B.  VanDoren,  Henry  E.  Hale,  John  C.  Conover,  Alexander  John- 
ston and  Frederick  N.  Willson.' 

As  I  look  over  the  roll  of  the  dead  I  know  not  whether 
most  to  mourn  the  loss  which  we  have  sustained  in  their  depart- 
ure, or  to  rejoice  that  God  so  long  enriched  our  church  with 
their  devoted  and  useful  lives.  Few  churches  have  such  men  to 
lose  as  Charles  Hodge,  Lyman  H.  Atwater,  George  Sheldon, 
Arnold  Guyot,  William  Harris,  and  Archibald  Alexander  Hodge. 
Nor  is  it  unfitting  to  name  in  this  connection  John  Maclean  ;  for 
though  long  identified  with  our  sister  church,  he  was  a  son  of 
this  church,  here  making  the  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ, 
here  beginning  the  career  in  which  he  illustrated  every  Christian 
virtue. 

Of  devout  women,  too,  not  a  few  have  passed  from  us  to 
the  "  sweet  societies  "  of  the  City  of  God.  We  bless  God  for 
their  pure  and  precious  memory  ;  we  thank  Him  for  the  holy 
influences  which  yet  breathe  from   their  lives  ;  and  we  take  up 


1.  The  numbei"  added  to  the  church  from  the  date  of  Dr.  Macdonald's 
decease  to  the  present  time  (February,  1888)  is  three  hundred  and  twenty -two. 


76  SERMON. 

with  hopeful  hearts  the  work  which  they  have  laid  down,  fol- 
lowing them  in  the  path  of  consecration  in  which  they  followed 
Christ,  until  we,  too,  shall  stand  in  that  Divine  Presence  where 
alone  can  be  found  the  fulness  of  life  and  of  bliss. 

"  We  know  not,  O,  we  know  not, 
What  social  joys  are  there  ! 
What  radiancy  of  glory, 

What  light  beyond  compare  ! " 


6 


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